PTI chief wants SC to consider whether courts that rejected his bail plea considered that cipher case was “politically motivated
Friday, November 03, 2023
PTI chief raises 15 legal questions about cipher.
He is asking the oversight committee to examine whether courts have considered political motivation.
He also questions the jurisdiction of the FIA in the case and malicious intent.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Friday filed a bail plea in the Supreme Court following his arrest in the cipher case.
In his 18-page bail plea, the PTI chief, through his counsel Salman Safdar, raised 15 legal questions related to the cipher case.
Among the issues, Khan wants the Supreme Court to consider whether the courts that rejected his bail application took into account that the cipher case was "politically motivated". He also questioned the role of the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) jurisdiction in the case and its "malafide intentions and ulterior motives".
“Whether the Home Office correctly assumed the role of complainant to the exclusion of the Foreign Office, which actually handles the 'cipher telegram', and whether the Home Secretary, under whose direct supervision the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) operates, was not a political opponent of the petitioner? Khan asked.
The petition also wants the apex court to determine whether the Islamabad High Court (IHC) "failed to understand and appreciate that the petitioner as Prime Minister of Pakistan was not in breach of oath and also enjoyed 'immunity' as provided in Article 248".
The PTI chief prayed the Supreme Court to grant him anticipatory bail in the case in the "interest of justice and fairplay".
On 27 October, the IHC rejected the pleas of Imran Khan seeking bail and quashing of the First Information Report (FIR) in the cipher case.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq announced the order, which was reserved on October 16 after both sides completed arguments.
Khan challenged the registration of an FIR and sought bail in a case filed against him and party vice-president Shah Mahmood Qureshi for misusing a secret document for their political gains.
A special court set up under the Official Secrets Act indicted both party leaders. They are currently incarcerated in Adiala Prison.
FIA fee
In its challan, the FIA said the former prime minister and ex-foreign minister were found guilty in the case and asked the court to try them and convict them in the case.
Former PTI general secretary Asad Umar's name was not added to the list of accused, while Imran Khan's former general secretary Azam Khan was also named as a "strong witness" in the case.
The FIA has also attached Azam's statements, recorded under sections 161 and 164, along with the challan, sources said, adding that the PTI chief kept the cipher to himself and misused state secrets.
Sources also said that Khan had a copy of the cipher but did not return it.
Additionally, the FIA also attached a transcript of Khan and Qureshi's March 27 speech — the day the former prime minister brandished a letter claiming it was a cipher from a foreign nation that wanted his government ousted from power.
The agency also submitted a list of 28 witnesses to the court with the boy after recording their statements under Section 161.
The names of former foreign ministers Asad Majeed, Sohail Mehmood and the then additional foreign minister Faisal Niaz Tirmizi were also added to the witness list.
What is encryption?
Controversy first emerged on 27 March 2022, when Khan – less than a month before his April 2022 ouster – waved a letter in front of a crowd in a speech at a public rally, which he claimed was a cipher from a foreign nation conspiring with his political rivals , to topple the PTI government.
He did not reveal the contents of the letter or mention the name of the nation from which it came. But a few days later, he accused the United States of conspiring against him and claimed that Undersecretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu had sought his removal.
The code was about a meeting between Pakistan's former ambassador to the US, Majeed, and Lu.
The former prime minister, who claimed to have read the contents of the cipher, said "all will be forgiven for Pakistan if Imran Khan is removed from power".
On 31 March, the National Security Committee (NSC) took up the matter and decided to issue a "strong demarche" to the US for its "blatant interference in Pakistan's internal affairs".
Later, after his dismissal, then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif convened a meeting of the NSC, which concluded that it found no evidence of a foreign conspiracy in the cable.
In two audio leaks that took the internet by storm and shocked the public, former prime minister Umar and Azam were reportedly heard discussing the US cipher and how to use it to their advantage.
On 30 September 2022, the Federal Cabinet took note of the matter and set up a committee to investigate the content of the audio leaks.
In October 2022, the Cabinet gave the go-ahead to initiate action against the former prime minister and referred the case to the FIA.
Once tasked to investigate the matter, the FIA summoned Khan, Umar and other party leaders, but the PTI chief contested the summons and secured a stay order from the court.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) had in July this year lifted the suspension order on Khan's appeal by the FIA.
The prosecution added that Qureshi "aided and abetted" Imran and was therefore equally liable for the act.
However, both defendants pleaded not guilty before a special court.
