PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi has lodged a plea with the Islamabad High Court to invalidate the physical remand orders related to the cipher case. The case pertains to an instance under the Official Secrets Act, involving former foreign minister and PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi. He has submitted a petition challenging the validity of the trial court’s physical remand rulings on August 20th, 21st, and 25th.
In his application, Shah Mehmood Qureshi has urged the court to nullify the orders for physical remand issued by the trial court and instead impose judicial remand. He contends that a malicious case has been orchestrated against him in collaboration with the federal government. He claims that the charges against him, based on the Official Secrets Act, are politically motivated.
In his application, Shah Mehmood Qureshi states that he had cooperated with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) during the investigation. He asserts that he neither possessed nor shared the transcript of the cipher telegram with unauthorized individuals. He maintains that official records verify the cipher’s presence within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Despite these facts, he alleges that he was arrested by the FIA and subjected to three instances of physical remand.
According to the application, the prosecution failed to present any substantial evidence, yet the trial court granted repeated physical remand. Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s petition also involves the Federation and the Home Secretary as respondents. The petition highlights that the judge disregarded the fact that the First Information Report (FIR) did not accuse him of having the cipher in his possession. The FIR, instead, alleged that someone else was in possession of the cipher. Shah Mehmood Qureshi emphasizes that during his tenure as Foreign Minister, he lawfully conveyed the cipher’s message to the Prime Minister of Pakistan.