ISLAMABAD: The special court hearing the cipher case faced a hurdle as Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi, summoned to appear in person, couldn’t be brought due to security concerns, as stated by jail authorities.
The Special Branch had previously requested enhanced security at the Judicial Complex anticipating a significant presence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf supporters and lawyers.
In response, Adiala Jail’s superintendent submitted a written reply to the court, citing serious threats to Khan and Qureshi and the inability to produce them. The Federal Investigation Agency prosecutor read out the superintendent’s letter, revealing the security concerns.
PTI’s lawyer, Salman Safdar, insisted on Khan’s presence, referencing the previous hearing’s order. He argued that if security concerns were raised by the former PM himself, he was still required to appear in court. Any obstacles to bringing Khan to court, Safdar asserted, should be transparently communicated to the court.
Had Khan attended, it would have marked his first public appearance since his arrest on August 5 in the Toshakhana case. All previous cipher case hearings were conducted within the jail compound, initially in Attock and later in Adiala. However, the Islamabad High Court declared the jail trial illegal on November 22, leading to an open court hearing where Judge Abu Alhasnaat Zulqurnain directed the production of Khan and Qureshi on November 28.
The cipher case revolves around the accusation that former PM Khan unlawfully retained and disclosed the contents of a classified diplomatic cable from Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington. The controversy surfaced when Khan revealed the letter during a public rally in Islamabad, just days before his government faced a no-confidence vote.
