A specialized court established under the Official Secrets Act on Tuesday sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to 10 years in prison in a cipher-related case.
The cipher case revolves around a diplomatic document that the Federal Investigation Agency’s charge sheet claims was not returned by Imran. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has consistently argued that the document contained a threat from the United States to remove Imran as prime minister.
The verdict comes just nine days before the February 8 general elections, where the PTI is participating amid a government crackdown and without an electoral symbol.
Both Imran and Qureshi have been incarcerated in the lead-up to the elections. While Imran’s candidacy was rejected, Qureshi was allowed to run for a National Assembly seat from Thar. However, today’s conviction disqualifies both of them from participating in elections for the next five years.
This marks Imran’s second conviction, as he was previously convicted in the Toshakhana case on August 5 and sentenced to three years in prison. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had suspended his sentence. However, a division bench later rejected Imran’s petition seeking the suspension of the conviction.
This is the former foreign minister’s inaugural conviction.
Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain delivered the verdict in the case. At the start of the hearing, Imran and Qureshi were presented with a questionnaire under Section 342 (power to examine the accused) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Following Imran’s statement, the court inquired about the whereabouts of the cipher, to which he responded: “I have stated the same in my statement that I do not know. The cipher was in my office.”
The judge then handed down a 10-year jail term to both individuals in the case. After announcing the verdict, the judge left the courtroom, prompting Qureshi to protest that his statement was not recorded.
PTI decries ‘sham trial,’ to challenge verdict in IHC
In a post on social media, PTI’s official account issued a statement expressing solidarity with Imran and Qureshi, who “defended Pakistan and stood for haqeeqi azadi” (true freedom).
“No such sham trial can alter what happened in March-April 2022, on the orders of Donald Lu,” the statement added.
“A complete mockery and disregard of the law in the cipher case shall not lead us to forget our primary responsibility to provide justice to Imran and Qureshi.”
The statement urged the public to come out and vote on February 8.
“God willing, Kaptaan and Vice Kaptaan will be back soon, and this sentence will be discarded in the appeal stage,” it concluded.
PTI leader Gohar Khan said that the special court judge had announced the verdict in haste, adding that proceedings were not being conducted in accordance with the law and the Constitution.
“He asked questions himself and the way our witness was cross-examined, you cannot find any such examples in history,” he said while speaking to the media outside the Islamabad High Court.
He requested all the “well-wishers” of the country to show patience and not react to the court order in any capacity.
“We trust the high and the Supreme Court. At the end of the day, we will eventually get relief. Even if they convict us then it would be quashed […] Do not get angry, don’t take the law in your hands. You do not have to throw a single stone, you should show patience,” he said.
Speaking to the media in Islamabad, Imran’s sister Aleema Khan alleged that someone was “giving instructions” to Judge Zulqarnain.
She stated that as the cross-examination of the witnesses was about to commence, “names of others started emerging, including Donald Lu, who transmitted the message (cipher), and General [Qamar Javed] Bajwa, who received it.”
Aleema expressed that the verdict was handed down due to the apprehension of Lu, the US State Department official, and former army chief Gen Bajwa potentially being summoned for cross-examination.
She encouraged “100 per cent” of the electorate to express their views in the upcoming general elections, emphasizing that there would be “no superior retaliation” than participating in the democratic process.
PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan called on party members to “maintain composure and refrain from engaging in any activity that undermines our longstanding commitment to peaceful advocacy.”
“We will lodge an appeal against this decision in the high court and persist in our struggle,” he stated. “The present unconventional court ruling will not dissuade us from upholding this principle under any circumstances,” he added.
“We should channel and direct these efforts for the polling day on February 8 to ensure that PM Imran Khan’s nominated candidates secure a resounding majority in the assemblies,” he urged.
“Sham trial. Sham decision. It will be reversed. Don’t fall in their trap. Our vote on February 8 will be our first response,” said PTI’s Taimur Jhagra.
Former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser termed the court’s decision “extremely painful” and “controversial”, adding that the legal requirements for the case were not carried out.
“It is absolutely clear that the decision is biased. God willing, we will challenge it in the high court and the Supreme Court,” he said in a video statement, adding that the decision was rushed by the courts.
“There were two proceedings in one day so the people are clear that this was the murder of justice,” the PTI leader said. “We will get our revenge by voting,” he said, expressing hope that the verdict would be discarded when moved before a higher court.
“I want to tell my workers that they should be encouraged, not to get violent or get disappointed,” Qaiser said.
Speaking to Geo News, PTI counsel Barrister Ali Zafar said he would file an appeal tomorrow in the Islamabad High Court, calling it a “blessing in disguise.”
“The case was going good but in recent days the judge changed everything and this was a mistrial. A criminal trial needs to be a fair trial,” he said.
When asked if 10 years was a long enough punishment for the PTI leaders, Zafar said, “Punishment is handed out when a crime has been committed. There was no crime committed, and no trial held.”
PML-N says sentence ‘justified’, ‘win for state’
Former interior minister and PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah said there was no debate that the cipher was a classified document, claiming that Imran had used the document for political purposes.
Speaking to Geo News, he said: “The punishment is completely justified, and it was given via legal means. They (PTI) have the right to appeal this decision and even go to the Supreme Court.”
“What the Supreme Court meted out to the PTI in terms of disqualifying a political party is completely different from jeopardising national security,” Sanaullah added.
In a press conference later, PML-N leader and former law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said Imran “used a classified document to save his government” and “made a joke out of the Official Secrets Act”.
“Without worrying about Pakistan’s foreign affairs, he used the document to dissolve Pakistan’s National Assembly — which was later overturned by the Supreme Court,” he recalled.
PML-N leader Azam Nazeer Tarar addresses a press conference on Tuesday.
Tarar mentioned that an inquiry into the case was subsequently initiated by the then cabinet, but Imran never deemed it necessary to provide a response or defend himself. He further noted that even during the trial proceedings, the PTI founder boycotted several hearings. “At the end of the day, the law had to follow its own course.”
“It was also reported that Imran gave a detailed statement in which he admitted to disclosing the contents of the cipher and losing the confidential document,” claimed Tarar. “Despite all this, Imran insisted that none of the charges against him constituted a criminal offense.”
Tarar added that the matters of relief and punishment were between the suspect and the court. “I believe that we should view it as a purely judicial matter.”
Meanwhile, PML-N leader Attaullah Tarar asserted that the cipher matter was “clear from day one,” alleging that the national security of the country was jeopardized for political gain.
Speaking to DawnNewsTV, he said Imran’s lawyers did not present themselves before the court and opted for delaying tactics. “Today is a victory for the state of Pakistan,” he added. “Enemies of Pakistan mocked us over all this. Anti-Pakistan lobbies published articles.”
The PML-N leader stated that the punishment was in accordance with the law, and no one had the right to violate the Official Secrets Act.
Case history
The former premier and Qureshi, also in custody, were initially indicted in the case in October. Both pleaded not guilty. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) deemed the government’s notification for a jail trial “erroneous” and annulled the entire proceedings.
The special court had recommenced the cipher trial last month at Adiala district jail after Imran and Qureshi were indicted for a second time on December 13.
On December 22, the Supreme Court approved the post-arrest bails of Imran and Qureshi. While Imran remained detained in other cases, Qureshi’s anticipated release was halted as he was manhandled and re-arrested in a fresh May 9 case.
Days later, Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb restrained the special court from proceeding against the suspects, including Qureshi, until January 11, noting “legal errors” in the case.
However, the stay order on the in-camera trial was lifted earlier this month after the state counsel assured that the witnesses’ statements would be recorded afresh.
On January 18, the special court recorded the statement of five witnesses, including former principal secretary Azam Khan. Other witnesses included Aneesur Rehman, Javed Iqbal, Hidayatullah, and Mohammad Ashfaq.
Azam Khan asserted that the cipher never returned to his office, and he had informed the prime minister, his military secretary, as well as the relevant staff multiple times.
The caretaker government subsequently approached the Supreme Court on January 19, challenging the IHC’s November 21 verdict that declared the trial illegal.
In a subsequent hearing, Imran claimed that the cipher was still with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and he received a rephrased version of the diplomatic cable.
On January 22, the special court recorded the statement of another four witnesses, including ex-foreign secretary Sohail Mehmood and former interior secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar.
Mehmood stated that the copy sent to the ex-PM was never returned, while Qureshi mentioned that he returned the copy to the ministry, and the ex-secretary confirmed this.
The next day, six more prosecution witnesses recorded their statements. Initially, there were 28 witnesses, but only 25 testified before the court after three witnesses were dropped from the list.
Besides Interior Secretary Aftab Akbar Durrani, ex-envoy to the US Asad Majeed recorded his statement in the case. Majeed concluded that there was no mention of “conspiracy” or “threat” in the diplomatic cable. Imran retorted, questioning why the government then issued the demarche to the US.
In the subsequent hearing, the court concluded the cross-examination of four prosecution witnesses.
The FIA prosecutor alleged that the defense side was employing delaying tactics to prolong the trial and urged the court to close the defense counsel’s right of cross-examination. Consequently, Judge Zulqarnain appointed Abdul Rehman and Hazrat Younis as defense counsel for both PTI leaders in the next hearing.
Imran stated that his lawyers could not appear before the court as they were contesting the upcoming general elections. He deemed the trial nothing less than a “joke,” stating that the prosecution and defense team both belonged to the government.
A day before, Imran was hesitant to appear before the judge. However, Qureshi attended the proceedings. The prison authorities permitted only three court reporters to cover the proceedings of the cipher case that continued for over 13 hours.
