Imran Khan, Qureshi indictment in cipher case adjourned till next week

A special court adjourned hearing in the cipher case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan and Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday without indicting them. The next hearing will be held on October 23.

The court had fixed October 17 for indicting the Khan and Qureshi at the last hearing. However, the indictment was delayed as challan copies had not been distributed to the accused.

Both politicians had refused to sign or receive the challans at the previous hearing. The hearing has now been adjourned till next week.

Judge Abu Alhasnaat Zulqurnain travelled to the jail for proceedings on Tuesday. Federal Invstigation Agency’s Special prosecutor Shah Khawar also appeared in the special court for the hearing.

Reports said that both Qureshi and Imran were brought to the courtroom set up inside the jail along with their lawyers. Imran Khan will be represented by Salman Safdar Butt and Khalid Yousaf.

Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq had ruled on Monday that there was no ‘ill will’ involved in holding the trial in jail instead of open court.

The order had added that Imran had himself raised concerns over his security and should approach the trial court if they wanted public hearings.

The cipher case, registered under the Official Secrets Act, accuses Imran Khan of divulging the contents of a classified cipher sent by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington. The copy of the cipher was later reported as ‘lost’.

Weeks before being ousted in a no-confidence vote, Imran Khan had revealed the cipher in a public rally in Islamabad, alleging a US conspiracy to remove him from power.