IHC dismisses plea against indictment of Imran in cipher case

Chief Justice directs that former prime minister be provided a 'fair trial'.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) today rejected a petition filed against the indictment of PTI chief Imran Khan in the cipher case.

Chief Justice Aamer Farooq however directed that the former prime minister be provided a ‘fair trial’. A special court in Adiala Jail indicted former prime minister and PTI chief Imran Khan and vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Adiala jail in the cipher case a few days ago.

Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain took up the case in the jail for indictment as in the last hearing copies of the challan had been given to the defence lawyers. The judge turned down a request from defense lawyer to delay the indictment. Both the PTI leaders rejected the charges.

The two are being held in the jail for making public a secret communication from Pakistan’s ambassador to the US in 2021.

Imran had claimed that America was involved in a conspiracy to oust him from power. He had based his allegation on the cipher sent back from Washington by the then Pakistani ambassador.

Khan had claimed that the cipher was about a meeting between a senior US official and the ambassador in which the former had threatened Pakistan’s isolation in case Imran was not removed.

The counsel for Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi however rejected the charges and said the contents were revealed by the FIA itself and that the cipher was still available in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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