Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain of the special court made the announcement at a hearing at Adiala Jail.
RAWALPINDI: In the cypher case, Imran Khan, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and his leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi received 10-year sentences.
The issue concerns claims that the former prime minister leaked information from a classified cable that the nation’s envoy in Washington DC delivered to the Islamabad administration.
For the troubled PTI founder, this is his second conviction in as many months. In a prior corruption case, he received a three-year term. His imprisonment was suspended as he contested the conviction for corruption, but it had already disqualified him from running in the general elections that follow next month.
In front of both PTI leaders, special court judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain made the announcement verbally about today’s ruling at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
The Official Secrets Act of 2023 established the special court. Since the case began last year, Judge Zulqarnain has been holding hearings in Adiala Jail.
Regarding their involvement in the suspected misuse of diplomatic cable for political objectives, both lawmakers had entered not guilty pleas.
During the hearing, Judge Zulqarnain reminded the PTI leaders that their lawyers were assigned state lawyers and would not be attending in court before declaring the verdict.
The court further noted that the questions under 342 were presented to Qureshi and Imran. Qureshi countered that they cannot record his remarks because his lawyers are not present.
The decision was made one day after the hearing was postponed because of a disturbance caused by Qureshi and Imran in the courtroom.
Imran and Qureshi receive state solicitors
Since the defence attorneys had once again neglected to show up for court on Saturday, the judge had made the decision to assign state counsel to represent the PTI leaders.
Malik Abdul Rehman and Hazrat Younus were asked to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses on behalf of Qureshi and the PTI founding chairman, respectively, as state defence attorneys, according to the court ruling.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruled in November of last year that Khan and Qureshi’s jail trial was “null and void” and granted their intra-court appeals in the case, after their challenge to their indictment in the case.
Nevertheless, the trial proceeded after the federal cabinet once more approved the outline of convening the two lawmakers’ jail trial.
Gohar requests composure from PTI employees.
Following the announcement of the verdict, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Khan’s successor, advised party members to maintain composure and refrain from threatening legal action in response to the ruling.
Gohar told reporters at the Islamabad High Court, “An attempt is being made to divert our focus from the elections; everyone will be held accountable on February 8.”
The PTI representative also made a suggestion that the party would file an appeal after stating that the IHC and Supreme Court are trusted by the party.
Cryphergate: What is it?
Less than a month before he was removed from office in April 2022, on March 27, 2022, Khan waved a letter in front of the audience during a public rally. He claimed that the letter was a cypher from a foreign country that had plotted with his political rivals to topple the PTI government. This was when the controversy first surfaced.
