Key witnesses record statements in cypher case

Azam Khan, Asad Majeed among witnesses to have recorded statements today

RAWALPINDI:

The prosecution's key witnesses, including ex-premier Imran Khan's principal secretary Azam Khan and then ambassador to US Asad Majeed Khan recorded their statement on Saturday in the cypher case. 

Besides the two, former executive magistrate Ubaid Arshad, assistant cypher operation Nauman and the secretary of Ministry of Interior Aftab Ahmed Khan recorded their statements before special court Judge Abul Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain, who presided over the open-trial hearing at Rawalpindi Central Jail.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief's wife, his sisters, along with former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s family were present in the courtroom.

Before the hearing, the prosecution brought forth 22 prosecution witnesses. These include Azam Khan, Sohail Mehmood, Asad Majeed, Hidayatullah, Muhammad Ashfaq, Hidayatullah Batini, Haseeb Gohar, Nadir Khan, Shamoon Abbas, Farrukh Abbas, Ayoub Chaudhry, Aftab Akbar Durrani, Adnan Arshad, Shujaat, Afzal, Jawaid, Abdul Jabbar, Ubaid Arshad Bhatti, Faisal Niaz, Nauman Ullah, Sajid Mehmood and Muhammad Nauman, arrived at Adiala jail today.

Earlier, in October this year, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had submitted a list of 28 witnesses in the cypher case against Imran and Qureshi, according to a copy of the indictment.

A day earlier, the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) granted both PTI leaders bail in the cypher case as there was no sufficient incriminating material to show that Imran had revealed the informer in the diplomatic document to the general public.

Read Imran moves IHC against

However, their immediate release from Adiala jail is hindered by their involvement in other ongoing cases.

The cypher

The case originated from Imran's public display of a paper during a rally in Islamabad on March 27, 2022, claiming it as evidence of an "international conspiracy" before a vote of no-confidence led to his government's ouster.

The FIA initiated its probe into the so-called “cypher-gate” on July 19, 2023, after the previous coalition government announced an official inquiry against the former prime minister and his close associates for violating the OSA.

Imran was arrested on August 5, following his conviction in the Toshakhana case by a local court of Islamabad. Later, he was also arrested in the cypher case on August 29.

As per the challan papers, Imran and Qureshi were charged under sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act. These provisions entail the possibility of the death penalty or life imprisonment.

Previously, the cypher trial had started inside the Adiala jail but an IHC division bench later annulled all those proceedings, ordering a fresh open court trial.