ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC), Monday, acquitted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi by annulling their conviction in the cypher case.
A division bench of Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, on Monday, heard the appeals of PTI founder Khan and Vice-Chairman Qureshi against their convictions in the cypher case and ordered to release them.
In its short order, the bench stated that for the reasons to be recorded later, instant appeal is allowed and judgment dated 30.01.2024 is set aside; consequently, the appellants namely, Imran Khan and Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi are acquitted of the charges in case FIR No.06 dated 15.08.2023 under section 5/9 of Official Secrets Act, 1923 read with section 34 PPC, 1860 registered with Police Station Counter- Terrorism Wing/FIA, Islamabad.
It added that they “shall be released forthwith, if not incarcerated in any other case.”
However, they are not expected to be released due to Khan’s sentence in the iddat case while Qureshi is arrested in cases related to May 9 protests.
A special court, established under the Official Secrets Act, had handed both Imran and Qureshi 10-year jail sentences each in the case in January after Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain appointed a state counsel for them.
Then, Imran and Qureshi moved the petitions through their counsels, Barrister Ali Zafar, Salman Safdar advocate and others, and cited the State and Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and secretary interior as respondents.
Khan and Qureshi have challenged the convictions and their 10-year sentence each in the cypher case. Khan and Bushra Bibi filed appeals against their conviction in the Toshakhana reference in which they were sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment each and Rs1.54 billion fine.
Imran’s counsel stated in the petition that the appellant along with the co-accused, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, faced trial in Case FIR No.06/23 dated 15.08.2023 (“Cypher Case”) under Sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 read with Section 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) 1860. The Appellant was arrested on 15.08.2023 and is aggrieved with the conviction-and sentence awarded in the instant case through judgment dated 30.01.2024 passed by Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulgarnain, Special Judge (Official Secrets Act, 1923), Islamabad.
Therefore, he prayed that the judgements passed by the NAB authorities and Special Judge in jail trials of Toshakhana and cypher cases be set aside, they be acquitted from charges and their sentence and conviction may be suspended.
Separately, the IHC also accepted District and Sessions Judge Shahrukh Arjumand’s request for the transfer of the iddat case to another court after complainant Khawar Fareed Maneka had requested Arjumand to recuse himself from hearing the appeals.
Last week, an Islamabad district and sessions court did not announce its already reserved verdict in the iddat case against Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi.
While the verdict was expected to be pronounced last week, Judge Arjumand had sought a transfer of the case and said that he would not be announcing the judgment.
On Monday, after Judge Arjumand had written a letter to the IHC chief justice to transfer the case, the court transferred the case to the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024