Imran Khan Challenges Indictment in Cipher Case at Supreme Court

Former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan has approached the Supreme Court to overturn his indictment by a special court in the cipher case.

Through his lawyer, Hamid Khan, Khan filed a petition challenging the legality of the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) decision to proceed with the indictment.

The petition argues that the special court’s charge against Khan, framed under the Official Secrets Act of 1923 on October 23, 2023, should be declared “illegal, unlawful, and violative of the Code of Criminal Procedure.”

Imran Khan’s plea emphasizes that he is being targeted politically, alleging the misuse of state machinery to fabricate cases against him. The petition cites Article 248 of the Constitution of Pakistan, granting immunity to Khan and co-accused Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs. The plea argues that the trial under the Official Secrets Act is legally void. Notably, the Islamabad High Court rejected Khan’s bail application in the cipher case.

Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi are currently detained in Adiala jail regarding the cipher case. This Supreme Court petition is Khan’s second attempt concerning the cipher case, following a plea for post-arrest bail filed earlier.

Khan was sentenced to three years in prison in the Toshakhana case on August 5, 2023, and has been in custody since then, initially in Attock jail before being transferred to Adiala jail.

The cipher case revolves around an FIR registered on August 15 under the Official Secrets Act, based on a complaint by the Home Secretary.

Besides Khan and Qureshi, former principal secretary Azam Khan and former planning minister Asad Umar were also implicated. The FIR alleges that Khan and Qureshi manipulated the contents of a diplomatic cipher for ulterior motives, endangering state interests.