A special court in Islamabad on Friday granted the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) a three-day physical remand for PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a case involving a diplomatic cypher that allegedly vanished from the custody of former prime minister Imran Khan.
Shah Mahmood physical remand extended: Judge Abu Al-Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain presided over Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s case in accordance with the Official Secrets Act 2023.
The FIA attorney requested a 9-day physical detention of the former foreign minister to recover a cypher copy at the beginning of the hearing. Qureshi’s attorney, Shoaib Shaheen, objected to the motion.
The court later extended Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s physical detention by an additional three days and directed the investigating officer to bring Qureshi before the court again on August 28.
Qureshi, the former foreign minister, was detained last week in Islamabad.
The FIR
The Home Secretary filed a first information report (FIR) for the Official Secrets Act on August 15, prompted by their complaint. This complaint led to the recording of the FIR.
The report listed the names of former principal secretary Azam Khan and former planning minister Asad Umar. It also included former prime minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
Authorities are reportedly planning to take action against Azam Khan and Asad Umar as well. This development stems from the authorities’ determination that they were also involve in the inappropriate utilization of the confidential documents.
According to the FIR, the former foreign minister and prime minister fabricated information on the diplomatic cypher. It carried on, stating, “They initiated a conspiracy to exploit the information within the cipher for malicious purposes.” The statement proceeded to note that the actions of the former premier and senior diplomat had compromised the interests of the state.
However, The report states that the former prime minister directed Azam Khan, his principal secretary, to “manipulate the contents of the cypher.” The statement provided further clarification that the former premier purposefully held onto the copy of the diplomatic cypher sent to the PM office.