Pakistan Supreme Court admits Imran’s bail plea

Islamabad, November 22

Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted for hearing the bail plea of jailed former premier Imran Khan in the cipher case and issued notices to the Federation and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), seeking their responses in the matter.

In March 2022, former Prime Minister Khan and his foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were alleged to have violated the secret laws of the country while handling a communication (cipher) sent by Pakistan’s embassy in Washington. The diplomatic cable reportedly went missing from Khan’s possession.

A three-member Supreme Court Bench comprising Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Ayesha A Malik, and Justice Yahya Afridi declared as admissible the bail petition filed by the 71-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party chairman through his lawyer Salman Safdar.

At the outset of the hearing in the apex court, Safdar read out loud the first information report registered against Qureshi and former PM Khan in the case after which Justice Masood inquired how far the matter dated back to and the punishment it carries if a person is found guilty.

Safdar then briefed the court on the inquiry report and accusations made against the former prime minister in the case.

He added that Khan’s then-principal secretary Azam Khan also accused the Tehreek-e-Insaf chief of misusing the cipher. — PTI

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