The federal government on Wednesday challenged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s acquittal in the cipher case in Supreme Court (SC), Aaj News reported.

The two PTI leaders were acquitted by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) earlier this month.

IHC acquits Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood in cipher case

Imran and Qureshi were indicted in the cipher case by a special court in January. The special court in the case handed down a 10-year prison sentence to Imran Khan.

The IHC previously ordered a stay order on the in-camera trial in the cipher case, taking up Imran Khan’s plea against the verdict.

In his plea, Imran had disputed his jail trial and the subsequent events, including the structuring of the allegations and the gag order imposed on the media.

PTI lauds IHC for cypher case verdict

A case was registered against Imran and Qureshi under Sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act, of 1923.

It is related to the “misuse” of alleged contents of a diplomatic cipher, cited by ex-premier Imran as proof of the attempt to remove his government.