ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday acquitted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case.
After accepting the appeals of the former premier and diplomat against their convictions in the case, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb announced the brief verdict.
As per the court-provided Order Copy, it stated that they “shall be released immediately unless detained in any other case.”
The pair are unlikely to be freed from custody due to Imran’s sentence in the Iddat case, while Qureshi was detained in the recent May 9 cases. The Iddat case was reassigned to a different judge today, while Qureshi remains in physical remand until June 5, 2024 (Wednesday).
A special court, established under the Official Secrets Act, had handed both Imran and Qureshi 10-year jail sentences each in the case in January after Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain appointed a state counsel for them.
It was Imran’s second conviction as he was also convicted in the Toshakhana case on August 5, and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. The IHC had suspended his sentence. However, a division bench later rejected Imran’s petition seeking the suspension of the conviction.
Imran was later convicted in a separate Toshakhana case in January but the 14-year sentence was suspended by the IHC in April. He was convicted in the Iddat case and sentenced to seven years in jail in February.
The cipher case pertains to a diplomatic document that the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) charge sheet alleges was never returned by then-PM Imran, who long held that the document contained a threat from the US to topple his government.
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub hailed the verdict and called for their immediate release.
“A big day for the leader and the party. A fake, frivolous and fraudulent case is sent packing by IHC. Other cases will also meet their Waterloo soon. Khan will step out of Adiala as the undisputed leader of a resurgent nation. Congratulations everyone,” said PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan.
Talking to the media, PTI leader Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said: “The nation saw today that the just verdict came and the banner of justice was held high and that baseless case was eliminated in which Imran Khan spent around 10 months in jail and for which he was kept in jail all the time. Today is a day of happiness … very soon the nation will see that Imran Khan will be outside.”
Senate opposition leader Shibli Faraz said God had vindicated the PTI duo, adding that the verdict came as a “wave of fresh air” and that the party hoped that its other case of the reserved seats in the Supreme Court would also be granted justice.
PTI Senator Barrister Ali Zafar said while talking to Geo News that the verdict was a victory for justice, even if it was delayed due to the prosecution’s tactics.
“The decision is as per justice and was expected. It was hoped that the decision would be exactly this,” he said. Zafar added that the verdict proved the PTI’s stance that the cipher case was a “false one” and said the government should seek forgiveness from Imran for imprisoning him in jail for an “illegal and wrong case”.
Imran’s counsel, Barrister Salman Safdar, said the state had “badly failed” in proving its case and even its prosecutors had abandoned the case. “Hats off to the honourable judges. It was a case of first impression. Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi did not do any anti-state activity,” he said.
He also lauded the two leaders for their patience and forbearance in the case and for not pestering the legal team about questions of release. Safdar said the cipher case was the most important and serious one yet, adding that Imran’s release was near.
“The high court declared today that there was no traitor here whose case was being heard. Whatever Imran Khan did was in the national interest.”
In a statement released by the PTI, it urged the judiciary to expedite the resolution of “false cases” against all political detainees and ensure their prompt release from incarceration.
