A special court in Pakistan has formally indicted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi on charges of violating the country's secret laws. Both Khan and Qureshi have entered not-guilty pleas in response to these charges, according to sources.
This case revolves around a confidential diplomatic document that the former Pakistan Prime Minister employed to accuse his political opponents of orchestrating his removal from power in April of the previous year. The incident unfolded during a public rally in March 2022, where Khan presented a piece of paper, referring to it as a copy of a cipher in his speech. In his address, he claimed that the United States was involved in efforts to oust him from power. Subsequently, the document in question reportedly went missing from Khan's possession.
A case was officially registered against him and his close associate Shah Mahmood Qureshi on August 18, 2023, under the Official Secrets Act of 1923. The special court, established by the government, conducted an in-camera hearing at Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail after taking over the case from the Islamabad High Court. In the most recent hearing held on October 17, Judge Abual Hasanat Zulqernain postponed the indictment to October 23.
As a result of the sensitive nature of the case and its impact on bilateral relations, it was reported that US officials had suspended communication and candid discussions with their Pakistani counterparts. The matter has posed a significant challenge to diplomatic ties between the two nations.
It is worth noting that Imran Khan was removed from office through a vote of no-confidence in April 2022. Subsequently, he was incarcerated on August 5 of the same year after being handed a three-year sentence in the Toshakhana case by an Islamabad court. Khan served his prison term in the Attock District Jail before the Islamabad High Court temporarily suspended his sentence. However, he was later arrested in connection with the cipher case.
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