Local and international journalists present outside the prison were not allowed inside today to cover the open court hearing
- Sifa’s hearing was held today at Adiala Jail.
- Journalists are not allowed to enter the prison.
- Qureshi asked the court to summon the president.
Rawalpindi: Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Saturday claimed that “powerful people” were being protected behind the Saefer case.
“When I was the prime minister, I ordered an inquiry into the matter,” the PTI supremo said during the hearing of the Cipher case at Adiala Jail today.
The former prime minister added that he, along with his party leaders, were imprisoned “like goats” while Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif was brought back to Pakistan.
A special court set up under the Official Secrets Act 2023 held an open court hearing at Adiala Jail, where Khan and the party’s vice-chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi are lodged in the cipher case.
Judge Abul Hasnat Zulkarnain has been conducting the cipher trial since the case was registered against the PTI leaders under the Official Secrets Act.
Khan and Qureshi were indicted by a special court on 23 October on charges of mishandling a classified document.
The federal cabinet on Thursday approved the summary jail trial of Khan and Qureshi in the Saifar case after it was moved by the Ministry of Law and Justice.
The decision was taken in light of special court judge Zulkarnain Adiala’s order to hold the trial in the jail due to “serious security risks” discussed by the prison superintendent.
The court also said that anyone, including journalists, can attend the proceedings. Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi, Qureshi’s daughter Meher Bano and son Zain Qureshi were also present in the court.
However, local and international journalists outside the prison to cover the open court hearing were not allowed inside today.
The presence of Khan and Qureshi was marked after which the proceedings were adjourned till December 4 (Monday).
Qureshi asked the court to summon President Alvi
During the hearing, Qureshi asked whether their trial was being conducted under the Official Secrets Act 1923 or 2023, adding that he never had any security concerns and traveled alone in his car.
He said the prison administration violated the order to produce him and Khan in court and failed to produce their records.
“We are being tried in a bogus case. The President is also against the Official Secrets Act Amendment Act,” he asserted. Qureshi also requested to summon the President and tell him whether he has accepted the law.
The court told Qureshi that media representatives were in jail for the hearing.
“You have not been produced in the court due to security reasons,” the court said, adding that Qureshi and Khan could not be tried separately.
The court told Qureshi that his trial would be held under Sections 9 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, adding that the proceedings would be held on merit.
‘Today’s hearing is not open trial’
Speaking to reporters outside Adiala jail, Khan’s lawyer Intazar Hossain Panjutha said today’s hearing was not according to open trial.
“The media representatives present in the jail said they do not represent all the media. Today’s hearing violated the High Court order as Imran Khan’s lawyers did not have inside access,” said Panjutha.
Claiming that certain persons were brought inside the jail in the name of the public, he said, the hearing ended when the journalists were allowed inside.
Security concerns are an ‘excuse’
Meanwhile, Qureshi’s son Zain said security concerns were just an excuse for his father not appearing in court.
“All local and international media representatives were present but they were not allowed inside the prison,” Jain said, adding that all information related to the Cipher case should come before the public.
Ciphergate
Controversy arose on March 27, 2022, when Khan – less than a month before his ouster in April 2022 – waved a letter in front of a crowd while addressing a public meeting, claiming it was a cipher from a foreign nation that had conspired against him. Political rivals will topple the PTI government.
He did not reveal the contents of the letter nor did he name the nation it came from. But days later, he accused the United States of conspiring against him and alleged that Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu sought his removal.
The cipher was about Lu’s meeting with Majeed, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US.
The former prime minister, claiming he was reading the contents of the cipher, said “all will be forgiven for Pakistan if Imran Khan is removed from power”.
Then on 31 March, the National Security Committee (NSC) took up the matter and decided to issue a “strong demarche” to the US for “blatant interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs”.
Later, after his removal, then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif convened a meeting of the NSC, which concluded that it had found no evidence of foreign conspiracy in the cable.
In two audio leaks that took the internet by storm and shocked the public after the incident, former prime minister, then federal minister Asad Umar and then principal secretary Azam Khan were heard discussing US ciphers and how to use them. It is for their benefit.
On September 30, the Federal Cabinet took notice of the matter and constituted a committee to probe the contents of the audio leak.
In October, the cabinet gave the green signal to take action against the former prime minister and handed over the case to the FIA.
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