Notices regarding Imran Khan’s request for bail in the cipher case

Imran Khan, the leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), requested bail in the cipher case on Wednesday, and the Supreme Court granted it. The state and interior ministries have been notified of this decision.

The plea was considered by a three-judge panel that included Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Yahya Afridi, and Justice Ayesha Malik.

The bench first questioned when the matter was made public and what the consequences would be if someone were found guilty.

The court was then told by Khan’s attorney, Barrister Salman Safdar, on the findings of the probe and the charges levied against the former prime minister.

He continued by saying that Azam Khan, Khan’s main secretary at the time, had also charged the PTI leader of cipher misuse.

Justice Masood then asked if the co-accused’s position was decided in the case.

According to the attorney, Azam Khan was cleared of all charges and became a witness in the case, while Asad Umar was released.

Justice Afridi jumped in on this, saying that it was mentioned in the investigation that the co-accused’s role would be established during questioning, and she inquired as to what was mentioned in the investigation’s final report.

According to Safdar, the investigating officer failed to take a firm position. He said that Azam had been “kidnapped,” and that his statement had been recorded under Section 164 following the “kidnapping.”

Judge Masood remarked, “Look, this is how the truth comes out.”

Safdar then argued that his client was being victimized politically as a result of this.

Justice Malik questioned the attorney on the main points of his case throughout the hearing.

Safdar answered, “Our case is that this case is not maintainable.” Sections pertaining to espionage offenses are included in the FIR filed against the PTI chairman.

“Where the spying was conducted or which enemy nation profited from it was never mentioned in the investigation,” Safdar said.

In response, Justice Masood noted that the prosecution was arguing that the defendants had broken the cipher’s code.

The confidentiality of the cable and whether the PTI leader had shown the document to anybody else were the next topics Justice Afridi raised.

No one was shown the cipher during this period, Safdar said the court.

Referring to the initial instance in which the PTI head disclosed the purported conspiracy during a rally, Justice Masood questioned, “If the contents of a document are shared while waving it, doesn’t that mean making it public?”

Proceeding, Justice Masood informed the attorney that the prosecution would gain from the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) decision to void the trial since the government will now correct all of its errors and seek a trial.

Judge Masood stated, “We had a bail petition and we have issued notices on it.” This is the only thing they could do, he continued.

The hearing was then postponed by the supreme court indefinitely.

The PTI chief’s plea contesting his indictment in the case was previously heard by the same panel, but it was also postponed indefinitely. After Hamid Khan, Khan’s attorney, requested more time to analyze the IHC on the jail trial, the adjournment was granted.

A day earlier, the IHC had revoked the August 29 notification that Khan would face accusations of exposing state secrets and go to jail.

Given that Khan was indicted on the allegations last month, a special court was holding the trial in jail due to security concerns. The PTI chairman was indicted by the special court on October 23 and is presently being held in Adiala jail.

The division bench, which is made up of Justices Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Saman Riffat Imtiaz, rendered the decision on the PTI chief’s intra-court appeal against his jail trial earlier in the day.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) used Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act 1923 to charge Khan and his deputy Shah Mahmood Qureshi in connection with the cipher case in August of this year.

It is said that Imran lost custody of the diplomatic cable. The cable purportedly contained a threat from the US to overthrow the PTI administration, according to the former ruling party