Pakistan former Prime Minister Imran Khan indicted in cipher case

A special court, formed to hear the cipher case registered under the Official Secrets Act, on Monday indicted former Pakistan Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi was also indicted in the case.

“He has been indicted today and the charge was openly read out,” AFP quoted Shah Khawar of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency as saying outside Adiala Jail where Khan is being held.

According to Geo TV report, both the PTI leaders were indicted after they had moved a petition under CrPC 265-D to stop the indictment. The judge while rejecting the petitions stated that the hearing was fixed for indictment and went ahead with it.

Once the charges are framed, the evidence of the prosecution is recorded and the case trial begins. Subsequently, the testimonies and statements of the accused are recorded by the court.

In line with the procedure, the court issued notices to the witnesses to appear on 27 October and adjourned the hearing till then, added the report.

The ex-cricketing superstar was jailed in August for three years over graft but when his sentence was later overturned, he was instead kept in custody on the far more serious charge of sharing state documents.

The case relates to a cable that Khan had touted as proof that he was ousted as part of a US conspiracy backed by the powerful military establishment, according to a report by the government’s Federal Investigation Agency.

The United States and the Pakistan military have denied the claim.

Lawyers for Khan say the case carries a maximum jail term of 14 years.

What is cipher case?

The controversy in question originated on 27 March, 2022, shortly before Imran Khan’s removal from office in April 2022. During a public rally, Khan brandished a letter and asserted that it contained a coded message from a foreign nation, which he alleged had conspired with his political adversaries to overthrow his PTI government. Khan did not disclose the letter’s contents or the identity of the nation involved.

Within a few days, Khan accused the United States of plotting against him, specifically pointing to Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs, Donald Lu, as the orchestrator of his removal. The letter was related to a meeting between the former Pakistani ambassador to the US, Majeed, and Donald Lu.

On 31 March, the National Security Committee (NSC) convened to address the matter and decided to issue a “strong demarche” to the US, citing what they perceived as blatant interference in Pakistan’s domestic affairs.

Following Imran Khan’s removal from office, the then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif assembled the NSC, which ultimately concluded that no evidence of a foreign conspiracy could be substantiated in the correspondence.

Soon after, two audio recordings emerged, allegedly featuring conversations involving the former Prime Minister, then-federal minister Asad Umar, and then-principal secretary Azam, discussing the contents of the US cipher and how to exploit it to their advantage.

On 30 September, the federal cabinet acknowledged the issue and established a committee to investigate the audio leak contents. In October, the cabinet granted approval to take legal action against the former Prime Minister and transferred the case to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

Upon the FIA’s instruction to question Imran Khan, Asad Umar, and other PTI leaders, Khan contested the summons and obtained a court-issued stay order.

In July of the same year, the Lahore High Court lifted the stay order against the FIA’s call-up notice to Imran Khan, potentially enabling the investigation to proceed. This entire episode revolved around allegations of foreign interference in Pakistani politics, primarily implicating the United States, but subsequent inquiries failed to uncover concrete evidence supporting these claims.