The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn the acquittal of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case.
The Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) June 3 decision to annul the convictions sentenced both to 10 years in prison earlier in January.
The controversy began on March 27, 2022, when Khan, at a public rally, brandished a letter he claimed was a cipher from a foreign nation conspiring with his rivals to topple his government. He later attributed the conspiracy to the United States, implicating Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu in the effort to remove him.
In the petition, the FIA criticized the IHC’s decision as “perverse, arbitrary, and contrary to the material on record,” arguing it should be set aside. The agency contended that the IHC overstepped its jurisdiction by creating rights not established in the Constitution or law.
The FIA’s filing pointed out that the defendants were uncooperative during the trial, consistently seeking delays. Despite the presence of witnesses, their cross-examination by the defence was not pursued. The agency highlighted that its documentary evidence and forensic analysis, which were not disputed in cross-examination, were overlooked by the IHC when acquitting Khan and Qureshi.
The petition underscores the prosecution’s stance that the IHC’s judgment lacked sufficient grounds for acquittal, arguing that it failed to recognize that the prosecution had convincingly proved its case.
