May 1st 2024.
Islamabad: The case involving confidential diplomatic cables has taken a new turn as the Islamabad High Court weighs in on the matter. The court, consisting of Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, resumed hearing the appeals filed by former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his then-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi against their conviction in the cipher case. The court raised questions about the Federal Investigation Agency's ability to prove that Khan had retained the confidential document and whether it was missing from his possession.
Khan, who is the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, was previously sentenced to 10 years in prison along with ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case. The former premier had displayed a piece of paper, which he claimed to be a copy of a diplomatic cipher, at a public rally in Islamabad. He alleged that the document was proof of a conspiracy against his government by a foreign power, specifically referring to US diplomat Donald Lu, who was at the center of the cipher controversy. This incident occurred just two weeks before the PTI government was ousted in 2022 through a vote of no-confidence.
During the hearing, the court was presented with a foreign ministry report containing details of the cipher's distribution. The report suggested that almost every recipient of the document, including the former army chief and the chief justice, had returned it after a case was registered against Khan. However, special prosecutor Hamid Ali Shah explained the movement of the cipher from the foreign ministry to the Prime Minister's Office. In response, Justice Farooq questioned whether there was any record of the document being handed over to Khan by the principal secretary.
Shah stated that the then-principal secretary, Azam Khan, had testified before the court that the cipher was given to the PTI founder and was never returned. However, the chief justice expressed doubts about this testimony, saying that it could be hearsay and that there was a possibility that Khan had asked for the document to be returned. Shah argued that the court had sufficient evidence to believe that Khan had received and read the cipher, as he had referred to it in public speeches and even sent a demarche to the US. However, Justice Aurangzeb pointed out that politicians often make statements to cater to their audience. The state's counsel was also directed to provide an update on the First Information Report registered over the alleged abduction of Azam Khan and to submit a challan or discharge report by May 2.
In a separate development, Khawar Farid Maneka, the former spouse of Khan's current wife Bushra Bibi, requested the transfer of the appeal against the conviction of Khan and Bushra in the Iddat case.
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