Special court rejects bail pleas of PTI chief, Shah Mehmood Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Special court has rejected the bail pleas of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the cipher case.

The court announced the reserved verdict of the cipher case.

Earlier today, the special court established under the Official Secrets Act had approved pre-arrest bail for PTI leader Asad Umar, with a Rs50,000 surety bond.

The cipher case against the PTI chief is a legal case filed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of Pakistan, accusing the former prime minister of leaking the contents of a classified diplomatic cable from Pakistan’s embassy in Washington.

The cable, also known as “cipher”, was allegedly used by the PTI chief to claim that the US had pressured Pakistan’s top authorities to remove his government in April 2022, after he visited Russia shortly before its invasion of Ukraine. The FIA has charged the former prime minister with violating the Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment.

The PTI chief denied the allegations and challenged the validity of the case. He has also objected to the trial being conducted in Attock jail, where the former prime minister is currently detained, instead of Islamabad. The PTI chief’s lawyers have argued that holding the trial in jail violates his right to a fair trial and due process.

The cipher case is one of the several legal troubles that the PTI chief is facing since he lost a confidence vote in parliament in April last year. He was also convicted in a corruption case last month and barred from contesting elections for five years. His sentence was suspended by the IHC, but he remains in custody in the cipher case. His judicial remand has been extended till September 26 by a special court.