Special Court deferred the indictment of Imran Khan and Qureshi in the Cipher Case till Oct 23

RAWALPINDI, Oct 17 (EPI): Special Court on Tuesday has deferred the indictment of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Vice Chairman PTI Shah Mahmood Qureshi in cipher case.
Special Court, established under Official Secrets Act 1923 has adjourned the hearing till October 23.
The hearing of cipher case resumed at the Adiala jail Rawalpindi wherein the copies of challans submitted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against both top PTI leaders were provided to the accused.
Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain, while adjourning the hearing, scheduled the indictment for the next week as the accused lawyers had refused to receive the copies of the challan during the last hearing.
Special prosecutor FIA, Shah Khawar, Imran Khan,Shah Mehmood Qureshi and their legal team members were all present in the courtroom during the course of hearing.
According to reports Imran khan and Qureshi were brought to the court in a cage, on such treatment with ex PM lawyers’ team showed serious concerns before the court. The court observed that next hearing of the case would be conducted in another big court room, sources said.
It is worth mentioning here that during the last hearing on October 9, the court issued copies of challans (charge sheet) submitted by the FIA against the PTI leaders and shared them with the accused, while their date of indictment was fixed to take place on October 17 (today).
“The accused had refused to receive a copy of the challan at the previous hearing,” the FIA special prosecutor said.
It is noteworthy that after the charges are framed, the evidence of the prosecution is recorded and the case trial begins. Subsequently, the testimonies and statements of the accused are recorded by the court.
Talking to media outside the Adiala jail before the hearing, PTI chief’s focal person on legal affairs, Umair Niazi, said that the copies of the challans were not provided in the previous hearing, adding that the prosecution’s Section 14 plea was not allowed by the court. Counsel said that hearing in the jail should not be in-camera and the media should have access.
On August 18, the ousted premier was booked under the Official Secrets Act 1923 in the cipher case after the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) invoked Section 5 of the said law. The diplomatic cable reportedly went missing from Imran’s possession. According to the former ruling party, the cable contained a threat from the US to topple the PTI’s government.

Imran is currently in Adiala jail on judicial remand in the cipher case. He was taken into custody after being sentenced to three years in prison in the Toshakhana case on August 5, 2023. Initially, he was kept in Attock jail but later he was moved to Adiala jail.