Cipher case: Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi indicted again

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and the party's Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi Wednesday were indicted in the cipher case again.

The two leaders were indicted by the special court established under the Official Secrets Act 2023. Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain issued the verdict that framed charges against the PTI leaders. 

Both politicians have pleaded not guilty to their involvement in the offence related to the alleged misuse of diplomatic cable for political purposes.

This was the second time that the PTI leaders were indicted.

During the hearing of the case, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Special Prosecutors Shah Khawar and Zulfiqar Abbas Naqvi appeared in the court, while Khan and Qureshi were represented by lawyers Usman Gul and Barrister Taimur Malik, respectively.

Following Khan and Qureshi’s indictment, the regular trial of the cipher case on the charges of leaking state secrets on October 23 will begin in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.

The case’s hearing was also held on Tuesday during which the family members of the PTI leaders were also present. A few reporters were also allowed inside the courtroom to witness the proceedings.

During Tuesday’s hearing, the PTI lawyers submitted six separate petitions in the court pertaining to incomplete documents in the case challan, media access and jail trial notification.

Meanwhile, Khan’s lawyer Salman Safdar argued that the proceedings were being conducted in a “hasty manner”, adding that the PTI had challenged two verdicts issued under the Official Secrets Act in the IHC. 

However, the FIA prosecutor highlighted that the high court had not stopped the special court from conducting the proceedings. He also urged the court to complete the indictment process.

Judge Zulqarnain said he would take all the decisions on the basis of merit, adding that he was hearing the case impartially.

Last month, after Khan and Qureshi challenged their indictment in the case, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared their jail trial “null and void” while allowing their intra-court appeals in the case.

However, the federal cabinet yet again approved the summary of holding the jail trial of both politicians following which the trail continued, leading to the indictment of both Khan and Qureshi today.

FIA charge sheet

The FIA, in its challan, stated that the former prime minister and the vice-chairman were found guilty in the matter and requested the court to conduct their trial and sentence them in the case.

Khan's former principal secretary Azam Khan was also named as a "strong witness" in the case.

The FIA also attached Azam's statements, recorded under Sections 161 and 164, along with the challan, said the sources, adding that the PTI chief kept the cipher to himself and misused the state secret.

The sources also said that Khan had a copy of the cipher but he did not return it.

Moreover, the FIA also attached the transcript of Khan and Qureshi's speech on March 27 — the day when the former premier brandished a letter claiming it was a cipher from a foreign nation, that wanted his government to be removed from power.

The agency also submitted a list of 28 witnesses to the court with the challan after recording their statements under Section 161.

Sources further revealed that the names of former foreign secretaries Asad Majeed, Sohail Mehmood and the then additional foreign secretary Faisal Niaz Tirmizi have also been added to the list of witnesses.

What is ciphergate?

The controversy first emerged on March 27, 2022, when Khan — less than a month before his ouster in April 2022 — while addressing a public rally waved a letter before the crowd, claiming that it was a cipher from a foreign nation that had conspired with his political rivals to have PTI government overthrown.

He did not reveal the contents of the letter nor did he mention the name of the nation it came from. But a few days later, he accused the United States of conspiring against him and alleged that Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Donald Lu had sought his removal.

The cipher was about former Pakistan ambassador to the US Majeed's meeting with Lu.

The former prime minister, claiming that he was reading contents from the cipher, said that "all will be forgiven for Pakistan if Imran Khan is removed from power".

Then on March 31, the National Security Committee (NSC) took up the matter and decided to issue a "strong demarche" to the US for its "blatant interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan".

Later, after his removal, then-prime minister Shehbaz Sharif convened a meeting of the NSC, which came to the conclusion that it had found no evidence of a foreign conspiracy in the cable.

In the two audio leaks that took the internet by storm and shocked the public after these events, the former prime minister, then-federal minister Asad Umar, and then-principle secretary Azam could allegedly be heard discussing the US cipher and how to use it to their advantage.

On September 30, the federal cabinet took notice of the matter and constituted a committee to probe the contents of the audio leaks.

In October, the cabinet gave the green signal to initiate action against the former prime minister and handed over the case to the FIA.

Once FIA was given the task to probe the matter, it summoned Khan, Umar, and other leaders of the party, but the PTI chief challenged the summons and secured a stay order from the court.

The Lahore High Court (LHC), in July this year, recalled the stay order against the call-up notice to Khan by the FIA.