On Friday, Islamabad’s special court granted an extension of three days for the physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the cipher case. This decision was made after the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) requested a nine-day remand for further inquiry into the case, which concerns the alleged misuse of classified documents by the former Imran Khan administration. Judge Abual Hasnat oversaw the in-camera hearing in the court, established recently under the Official Secrets Act, a legislation that faced significant opposition.
Qureshi was brought to the judicial complex, which was heavily guarded by the Frontier Corps and Islamabad Police, following his arrest by the FIA on August 20. The judge settled for three-day custody despite Qureshi’s counsel, Shoaib Shaheen, contesting the FIA’s remand request.
A trial under the Official Secrets Act involving PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Qureshi will begin in the next two weeks. With the FIA aiming to finalize the challan by the upcoming week, Khan and Qureshi have already been taken into custody. Khan, already detained in Attock jail for another case, was interrogated regarding a missing diplomatic cipher he once cited as proof of a conspiracy against his prime ministership.
