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A special court, designated to try suspects under the Official Secrets Act, rejected on Thursday the bail pleas of former prime minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, the same court confirmed the pre-arrest bail granted to former federal minister and PTI leader Asad Umar in the same case.<\/p>\n
The cipher case<\/a> pertains to a diplomatic cable which reportedly went missing from former prime minister Imran Khan\u2019s possession. The PTI alleges that it contained a threat from the United States to oust Imran from power.<\/p>\n Imran and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi have been attending hearings in the case, while Umar and former principal secretary Azam Khan\u2019s involvement will be determined in the course of the investigation.<\/p>\n Today, Imran\u2019s lawyer Salman Safdar, Qureshi\u2019s representatives Babar Awan, Ali Bukhari and Shoaib Shaheen and Asad Umar, through his counsel Awan, reached the Federal Judicial Complex in Islamabad to request bail for their respective clients.<\/p>\n Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain, who is also conducting the special court hearings, decided to take up the bail requests separately.<\/p>\n Shortly afterward, PTI\u2019s legal affairs spokesperson lawyer Naeem Haider Panjhutha confirmed that Umar\u2019s bail had been confirmed in a post on X.<\/p>\n \u201cAsad Umar\u2019s bail was confirmed on the prosecutor\u2019s statement that there is no need for him, there is no material against him; the hearing on Imran Khan\u2019s case continues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Judge Zulqarnain reserved his decision on Imran and Qureshi\u2019s pleas after the defence and prosecution completed their arguments.<\/p>\n Later in the afternoon, Panjhutha said on X that the post-arrest bail pleas were dismissed. \u201cUnfortunate justice system,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n On August 22, the same court headed by Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain had granted<\/a> pre-arrest bail to Umar against a surety bond of Rs100,000.<\/p>\n Umar\u2019s counsel Advocate Babar Awan had argued that the case was politically motivated and there was no evidence against his client. He had claimed that the FIA implicated his client in the cipher case to blackmail him, adding that Umar was willing to join the investigation as and when required.<\/p>\n Outside the court today, Umar briefly responded to reporters\u2019 questions as he made his way to his vehicle.<\/p>\n A reporter asked him whether the document \u2014 the purported cipher \u2014 that then-PM Imran retrieved from his pocket<\/a> in a public gathering in March 27, 2022 was the real thing.<\/p>\n \u201cOnly the [former] prime minister can tell you that,\u201d Umar responded.<\/p>\n Another reporter mentioned that according to journalist Saleem Safi, the cipher is supposed to be yellow in colour, to which Umar replied saying: \u201cHe (Saleem) is a big journalist and would know better.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked if he is about to become the PTI chief, Umar said: \u201cThere\u2019s no chance of that.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the FIR, a case has been registered against former prime minister Imran Khan and Qureshi under sections 5 and 9 of the Official Sec\u00adrets Act, 1923, read with Section 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).<\/p>\n They have been accused of wrongful communicat\u00adion\/use of official secret information and illegal retention of a cipher telegram (an official secret doc\u00adument) with mala fide intention, whereas the roles of former SPM Muha\u00adm\u00admad Azam Khan, former federal minister Asad Umar, and other involved associates will be ascertained during the course of the investigations.<\/p>\n It said former PM Imran, former FM Qureshi and their other associates are involved in communicat\u00adion of information conta\u00adined in secret classified document (cipher telegram received from Parep Washington dated March 7, 2022 to the Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Aff\u00adairs) to the unauthorised per\u00adsons (i.e. public at large) by twisting facts to achieve their ulterior moti\u00adves and personal gains in a manner prejudicial to the interests of state security.<\/p>\nThe cipher case<\/h2>\n