Cipher case: Court extends judicial remand of Imran Khan, Qureshi till Sep 26

Islamabad: A Pakistan special court on Wednesday extended the judicial remand of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in connection with the cipher case till September 26.

The special court Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain conducted the hearing of the case inside the Attock Jail where the former prime minister is currently lodged.

Meanwhile, Qureshi was presented before the special court at the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC) on Wednesday upon the completion of his 14-day judicial remand.

In cipher case, Imran Khan is charged with the violation of the Official Secrets Act in connection with the leakage of confidential diplomatic cable from Pakistan's embassy in Washington in March last year.

Imran, the 70-year-old chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has been kept in jail since August 5 after his conviction in the Toshakhana corruption case. His sentence was suspended by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on August 29, but he continues to remain in Attock prison in the cipher case.

Earlier, the law ministry issued a notification on Tuesday, expressing no objections to conducting the trial in jail, saying that special court judge Abul requested that proceedings be held in Attock jail “due to security reasons”.

The hearing comes at the end of a 14-day judicial remand which was ordered by the court on the last hearing conducted in the same jail.

Extending Imran’s judicial remand, the court directed him to be presented again on September 26 and then extended Qureshi’s judicial remand by the same period as well.

However, Khan’s spokesman Zulfiqar Bukhari rejected the plea and demanded a trial in a normal court environment. “Hearing continues citing security concerns, a preposterous excuse saturated with malice when there can be video link appearance if not in person,” he said in a statement.

Bukhari also said that the authorities had not waited for the outcome of the case heard by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against Khan’s trial in jail.

The IHC on Tuesday had reserved its order on a petition against the conduct of Khan’s trial in prison, rather than Islamabad. Chief Justice Aamer Farooq concluded proceedings by saying that he would pass an “appropriate order”.

Strict security arrangements were made outside the Attock jail ahead of the hearing. The Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) team and nine lawyers of Imran’s legal team were allowed inside the jail and were present during the in-camera hearing.

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With inputs from PTI