The Supreme Court of Pakistan has recently granted bail to former Prime Minister Imran Khan and ex-Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case. This legal development comes after a three-member bench, led by Chief Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and comprising Justices Athar Minallah and Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, issued the notices in response to a set of petitions filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders.
The cipher case revolves around allegations related to a diplomatic document that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) claims was not returned by Imran Khan. The charge sheet alleges that the document, which supposedly contained a threat from the United States to remove Imran as Prime Minister, was never returned. The PTI, however, has consistently maintained that the document was never returned because it contained a threat to oust Imran from the premiership.
As per the Supreme Court’s decision, both Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi are required to submit surety bonds worth Rs1 million each. This bail grant offers the PTI leaders temporary freedom during the ongoing investigation and legal proceedings, providing them the opportunity to present their defense against the charges leveled in the cipher case.
The Special Court (Official Secrets Act) had recently initiated a fresh trial at Adiala district jail, where both Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi were indicted for the second time in the case on December 13. The trial had commenced anew after the initial proceedings were scrapped by the Islamabad High Court, which deemed the government’s notification for a jail trial as “erroneous.”
Imran and Qureshi were initially indicted on October 23, 2018, and had pleaded not guilty. The charges in the cipher case involve accusations of conspiring to misuse the diplomatic cipher during a PTI meeting at Imran’s Bani Gala residence on March 28, 2022. The case also alleges that Imran Khan never returned a copy of the cipher, putting the entire security of the cipher system at risk.
Barrister Salman Safdar, representing Imran Khan, argued in court that the Special Court had recorded statements of 13 witnesses hastily. However, Justice Masood emphasized that a speedy trial is the right of the accused. Imran’s counsel further highlighted that the chargesheet in the new indictment remained the same, while the Lahore High Court had earlier placed a seven-month stay on summons related to the cipher case.
The court also directed the PTI to approach the high court for petitions against the old chargesheet, effectively separating the legal challenges related to different indictments. The hearing on the petition challenging the indictment was postponed, and the court proceeded to hear arguments on the bail pleas, culminating in the grant of bail with the submission of surety bonds.