FIA seeks to present Lu’s testimony

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Wednesday sought permission of Islamabad High Court (IHC) to present the statement of US Assistant Secretary Donald Lu given before a congressional committee in Washington as evidence in the cipher case.

In a miscellaneous application, the FIA requested the IHC bench, comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, to allow filing of more evidence in the cipher case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and senior leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

During the hearing, the chief justice expressed his concern that the FIA wanted to present extra evidence when the hearing of the appeals was about to complete. Justice Miangul Hassan asked whether the prosecutor wanted to present Lu as a witness or it might be an attempt to delay the case.

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Chief Justice Aamer Farooq said that as per the criminal law the prosecution had to tell the reasons that whether the evidence was relevant. Though the prosecution had the legal right to file a miscellaneous application, he added, the court had serious reservations on its filing at the current stage.

During the hearing, the Islamabad advocate general informed the court that state counsel on behalf of the PTI founder and Qureshi were appointed on January 26, and they appeared before the trial court on January 27.

State counsel Abdul Rehman said that when they appeared they were instructed by the trial court to conduct the cross-examination. The court sought affidavit from the state counsel, who had conducted the cross-examination of witnesses on behalf of the two accused.

The court summoned the special prosecutor for arguments on Friday and adjourned the case. APP