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\u2022 IHC rejects ex-PM\u2019s petitions and immunity claims; notes he apparently committed an offence under Official Secrets Act
\u2022 PTI chief \u2018may face death penalty or up to 14 years imprisonment\u2019
\u2022 Refuses to record statement in May 9 case; Qureshi questioned in Adiala Jail<\/p>\n
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday declined<\/a> bail<\/a> to detained former prime minister Imran Khan in a case<\/a> in which he has been indicted<\/a> on charges of leaking state secrets, observing that he apparently committed the offence, which might carry the death penalty or up to 14 years of imprisonment.<\/p>\n The court also rejected another petition filed by the PTI chief in which he had asked the court to cancel the FIR in the cipher case.<\/p>\n The charge is related to a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan\u2019s ambassador to the United States last year, which Mr Khan is accused of making public. Mr Khan denies this, arguing that the contents of the cable appeared in the media from other sources.<\/p>\n The prosecution\u2019s case is based on a complaint by Yousaf Naseem Khokhar, secretary of the Ministry of Interior. He alleged that Mr Khan and another PTI leader, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, communicated the cipher in an unauthorised manner. The content was allegedly manipulated, jeopardising state security for personal benefits.<\/p>\n It was also alleged that in a March 2022 meeting in Banigala, Mr Khan and several others plotted to exploit the cipher\u2019s contents for political gains.<\/p>\n \u2018Constitutional immunity\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Defending Mr Khan, his lawyer Sardar Latif Khan Khosa argued that the facts of the case didn\u2019t fit within Sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923.<\/p>\n He also stressed that Mr Khan, as a former prime minister, had constitutional immunity from prosecution under Article 248 of the Constitution.<\/p>\n The counsel pointed to the prime minister\u2019s oath, provided in the third schedule of the Constitution, emphasising Mr Khan\u2019s duty to keep the public informed, which he said Mr Khan accordingly did by highlighting a conspiracy by a foreign government to overthrow his government.<\/p>\n Barrister Salman Safdar, another counsel for Mr Khan, argued that the case lacked precise allegations and that details had been omitted fraudulently. Besides, the case was based mainly on a co-accused\u2019s statement, he said, adding that the Official Secrets Act primarily pertained to armed forces personnel.<\/p>\n However, Special Prosecutor Raja Rizwan Abbasi contested these arguments, insisting that the act applied to all citizens.<\/p>\n He argued that as prime minister, Mr Khan received a decoded copy of the cipher at his office. He was supposed to return the cable, but he did not, and instead kept it with him and allegedly tampered with its contents for political advantage.<\/p>\n He also argued that Mr Khan didn\u2019t enjoy immunity in the cipher case under Article 248 of the Constitution.<\/p>\n The court\u2019s final verdict stressed that Mr Khan\u2019s failure to safeguard the classified document and subsequent public dissemination could lead to severe legal repercussions.<\/p>\n It specifically mentioned potential penalties under subsections (a) and (d) of Section 5(1) of the Official Secrets Act, under which Mr Khan could face the death penalty or up to 14 years of jail.<\/p>\n Commenting on Mr Khan\u2019s defence that he was exposing a conspiracy, the court underscored the classified nature of ciphers and the prime minister\u2019s responsibility not to disclose sensitive information. The court said that it was in fact an admission that such disclosure was made.<\/p>\n Relying on a statement of former Pakistani ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq observed that \u201cno conspiracy was hatched in a foreign country and that, making the contents of cipher known to public jeopardises the cipher code security and let down Pakistan in international diplomatic circles and strained relations of Pakistan with a foreign country\u201d.<\/p>\n