Imran Khan, the leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has submitted a post-arrest bail petition in the cypher case, which the Islamabad High Court (IHC) will hear on Monday.
IHC hear Imran’s bail plea on Monday: On September 25, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq will preside over the proceedings.
The case in question involves the alleged “misuse” of a diplomatic cipher’s contents, which ex-premier Imran used as evidence of a coup attempt.
Currently imprisoned at the Attock Jail is Imran.
On September 16, Salman Safdar, the former PM’s attorney, submitted a bail request. “The petition named Yousuf Naseem Khokar, the secretary of the interior and state ministries, as a respondent.”
Further, Imran entered the plea after a special court, constituted under the Official Secrets Act, denied his and senior politician Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s post-arrest bail requests and heard the case against the PTI leader and the vice chairman of his party.
“Earlier this week, the PTI chairman’s petition to be allowed to consult with his legal team and doctor while being held in Attock Jail was authorized by the special court judge, Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain, who was hearing the case.”
Cypher case history
Additionally, Imran and Qureshi were the targets of a case under Sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act of 1923.
According to the FIR copy registered on August 15, the Counter Terrorism Wing (CTW) of the FIA concluded inquiry No 111/2023 and found that former Prime Minister Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi, former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and their associates communicated information contained in the secret classified document (cipher telegram received from Parep Washington dated March 7, 2022, to the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) to unauthorized individuals (i.e., the general public). They did so by distorting the facts to pursue their “ulterior motives” and personal interests, which was detrimental to state security.