Special court grants Asad Umar bail in cypher case till Aug 29

ISLAMABAD:

 

Former federal minister Asad Umar on Tuesday secured a pre-arrest bail in the leaked cypher case until Aug 29 after he approached a special court in Islamabad established for cases concerning complaints filed under the Official Secrets Act.

Talking to reporters outside the court, Umar refuted media reports regarding his arrest by the FIA.

On March 27, 2022, ahead of a vote of no-confidence that resulted in his ouster, former premier Imran Khan had pulled out a piece of paper – allegedly the cypher – from his pocket and waved it at a public gathering in Islamabad, claiming it was evidence of an “international conspiracy” being hatched to topple his government.

Though the cypher issue never really faded out, it resurfaced after a US publication recently published its contents.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has now launched a thorough probe into the alleged “disappearance” of the diplomatic cypher, booking Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi under the recently enacted Official Secrets Act.

It may also be noted here that last month, Qureshi and Asad Umar appeared before the FIA-led joint investigation team (JIT) that is probing into the alleged manipulation of a classified diplomatic cypher during PTI rule.

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The JIT is carrying out an investigation on the direction of the former cabinet which alleges that the ousted premier, his associates including Qureshi and his former principal secretary prejudiced the national security and interest of the state by directly revealing classified information—a diplomatic cypher—without proper authorisation.

Qureshi was later arrested by a heavy contingent of police from his residence in Islamabad. A spokesperson of Islamabad Police said that ex-FM was arrested by the FIA.

Sources had told The Express Tribune that the counter-terrorism wing of the FIA registered a case against Imran Khan in connection with the “missing cypher”, invoking severe provisions of law.

It also accuses them of misuse and unauthorised retention of the cypher telegram.

It transpired on Monday that ATC-I Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain will hear all cases registered anywhere in the country under the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

These trials will be held in-camera.

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The Ministry of Law and Justice on June 27 appointed Judge Zulqarnain as the ATC-1 Judge. In view of the ministry’s notification, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on July 3 directed the judge to join his new assignment till December 8, 2025.

After Umar approached the court this morning, interim bail was extended to him until Aug 29. The bail was approved with surety bonds of Rs100,000.

His lawyers had argued that the case was politically motivated and that the case was created to harass and blackmail him. The application had also maintained that the allegations levelled against him were "baseless" and that he was willing to cooperate with the investigation.ATC grants bail

Meanwhile, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) extended bail to Umar until Oct 12 in a case registered at the Sangjani Police Station.

Notably, various former ruling party leaders, including Asad Umar, were booked under multiple charges – including terrorism, obstructing justice and vandalism in a case registered at Sangjani police station.

The cases had come in the wake of protests that broke out following former premier Imran's disqualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Earlier, Umar had also sought the removal of terror charges for protesting outside the ECP building.

Local court judge Zulqarnain heard this case today as well. Umar appeared before the ATC court along with his lawyer Babar Awan and secured bail in the case until October 12.