In Islamabad, the Supreme Court has approved the bail requests of former PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi regarding the Cipher Case.
The court accepted their bail applications upon the submission of a surety bond. A three-member Supreme Court bench, led by Acting Chief Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, oversaw the hearing of their bail plea.
The Acting Chief Justice mentioned that the challenged indictment had been terminated by the High Court, emphasizing that previous proceedings wouldn’t affect the new indictment. The FIA prosecutor noted the lack of notice regarding Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s bail application, prompting the Acting Chief Justice to address the issue, questioning the rush.
Counsel for the former PTI Chairman highlighted the hurried recording of statements by 13 witnesses in the trial court. The Acting Chief Justice defended the right to a speedy trial for every accused, questioning the desire to delay proceedings. He pointed out that the charge-sheeting process had been completed by the High Court on October 23, suggesting that adjournments would apply to both cases if needed.
PTI’s lawyer, Salman Safdar, expressed concerns about the perceived targeting of the former prime minister for political reasons, noting the granting of pre-arrest bail in 40 cases. The lawyer criticized the frequency of case registrations by law enforcement agencies, stressing that both the former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister were facing trial in a unique Cipher Case situation in Pakistan’s history.
Justice Athar Manullah focused on the sensitivity of the cipher document and questioned how the Foreign Office provided a coded cipher to the Prime Minister. He referred to Azam Khan’s statement, indicating that the document with the Prime Minister might not have been the actual cipher, suggesting that the original document might still be in the Foreign Office. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah clarified the court’s role in the bail case, emphasizing that they were not presiding over the cipher case itself but considering the bail request.
Imran Khan was arrested in the Tosha Khana case on August 5 and in the cipher case on August 15, while Shah Mehmood Qureshi was arrested on August 20. On December 13, 2023, the special court re-indicted both individuals in the cipher case under official secrecy charges, following an annulled trial court decision by the Islamabad High Court, which ordered a retrial in line with legal requirements. Subsequently, a trial notification was issued in Adiala Jail.
