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Imran Khan may get death penalty in cipher case, fears Aleema Khan

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  • Aleema says she does not see justice being done in cipher trial.
  • Says cubicles had been made in Adiala jail’s courtroom.
  • Imran Khan indicted in cipher case for the second time. 

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, has expressed fear that her brother might get the death penalty in the cipher case, The News reported Thursday. 

Speaking to reporters outside Adiala jail, where the former PTI chief is incarcerated in the cipher case, Aleema cast doubts over the ex-prime minister’s jail trial saying she did not see justice being done.. 

Khan was indicted by the special court established under the Official Secrets Act 2023 in the cipher case a day earlier. However, he has pleaded not guilty to their involvement in the offence related to the alleged misuse of diplomatic cable for political purposes.

Speaking about her brother’s cipher trial in Adiala jail, Aleema said that cubicles had been made in the courtroom, and she couldn’t comprehend what fear had caused this state of affairs. 

Khan’s sister said her entire family was inside and the courtroom was locked from outside, adding that they were chased as soon as they left their house and threatened that they would be jailed.

“We have no fear, but there can be no fair trial without the media,” she said, adding that the media persons were not being allowed to attend the trial, which must be linked to some motive.

“It seems that we are not in our country but in some another country. It is very sad to see what is happening to us in our own country,” she added.

Imran expresses ‘no-confidence’ in IHC CJ 

The former prime minister on Wednesday filed an application seeking recusal of Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamer Farooq from all the benches hearing cases against him, according to The News.

Khan moved the application to the IHC, expressing a lack of confidence in Justice Farooq.

The application stated that Justice Farooq, since assuming charge as IHC CJ, had given the impression of a “one-man high court” and had included himself in every single and division bench hearing case related to Khan, apart from his intra-court appeals.

It said CJ Farooq had heard 120 applications from the former PTI chairman, alleging that the Toshakhana trial against Khan was conducted against the law, because of the IHC chief justice.

It added that CJ Farooq also heard a case related to the number of dependants of Khan in the election nomination papers. It stated that after the applicant raised objections to the single bench hearing the matter, a three-member bench was constituted, which through a majority decision dismissed the case against the former prime minister.

The application read that CJ Farooq not only removed the majority decision from the court’s website but also issued a press release. It maintained that the applicant had lost trust in the IHC CJ and did not expect justice from him; therefore, he should recuse himself from all the cases related to Khan.

What is ciphergate?

The controversy first emerged on March 27, 2022, when Khan — less than a month before his ouster in April 2022 — while addressing a public rally waved a letter before the crowd, claiming that it was a cipher from a foreign nation that had conspired with his political rivals to have PTI government overthrown.

He did not reveal the contents of the letter nor did he mention the name of the nation it came from. But a few days later, he accused the United States of conspiring against him and alleged that Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Donald Lu had sought his removal.

The cipher was about former Pakistan ambassador to the US Majeed’s meeting with Lu.

The former prime minister, claiming that he was reading contents from the cipher, said that “all will be forgiven for Pakistan if Imran Khan is removed from power”.

Then on March 31, the National Security Committee (NSC) took up the matter and decided to issue a “strong demarche” to the US for its “blatant interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan”.

Later, after his removal, then-prime minister Shehbaz Sharif convened a meeting of the NSC, which came to the conclusion that it had found no evidence of a foreign conspiracy in the cable.

In the two audio leaks that took the internet by storm and shocked the public after these events, the former prime minister, then-federal minister Asad Umar, and then-principle secretary Azam could allegedly be heard discussing the US cipher and how to use it to their advantage.

On September 30, the federal cabinet took notice of the matter and constituted a committee to probe the contents of the audio leaks.

In October, the cabinet gave the green signal to initiate action against the former prime minister and handed over the case to the FIA.

Once FIA was given the task to probe the matter, it summoned Khan, Umar, and other leaders of the party, but the PTI chief challenged the summons and secured a stay order from the court.

The Lahore High Court (LHC), in July this year, recalled the stay order against the call-up notice to Khan by the FIA.

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The PPP and PML-N will confer on power-sharing arrangements in Punjab today.

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The coordination committees of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) are scheduled to convene today at the Governor’s House in Lahore to deliberate on power-sharing arrangements in Punjab.

The PPP delegation would comprise Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Makhdoom Syed Ahmed Mahmood, Nadeem Afzal Chan, Hassan Murtaza, and Ali Haider Gilani.

Ishaq Dar, Azam Nazir Tarar, Rana Sanaullah, Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan, and Maryam Aurangzeb will represent the PML-N.

The conference will discuss local issues in Punjab and offer a forum for the PPP to express its concerns over its collaboration with PML-N in the province.

Both parties seek to fortify their partnership and optimize governance techniques in Punjab.

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Sheikh Rasheed says PTI and government negotiations won’t provide any results.

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Sheikh Rasheed voiced his worries about the nation’s ongoing political dilemma while speaking outside the Anti-Terrorism Court.

According to Sheikh Rasheed, a committee was established to negotiate, but the process has not produced any tangible results. In order to emphasize the seriousness of the situation, he said, “Political conditions are extremely bad.”

He made the joke, “Even after war, if negotiations fail, then it will all come down to judo karate,” in reference to the next steps.

“Everyone there prays for Pakistan’s betterment,” Sheikh Rasheed, who had returned from Saudi Arabia, said. He emphasized the necessity for the nation’s circumstances to improve and stabilize.

Assad Qaiser, a former speaker and PTI leader, had earlier called on Speaker Ayaz Sadiq of the National Assembly to discuss the official start of talks with the government.

The two leaders shared their opinions on bringing parties together on matters of national importance and reducing political tensions and conflict.

“I will persuade my people, you persuade the hardliners in your party,” Ayaz Sadiq said to Assad Qaiser.

The party’s founder is in jail, and the PTI leadership has asked to meet with him. “We will continue to confer with him,” Assad Qaiser declared.

Earlier, PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai stated that if the discussions don’t begin, a campaign of civil disobedience will begin on December 14.

Speaking to the media Regarding the meetings, Yousafzai claimed that the government ministers were making insincere remarks.

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Bushra Bibi maintains bail as the IHC concludes the FIA’s petition.

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The Islamabad High Court (IHC) conducted a hearing about the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) plea for the revocation of Bushra Bibi’s bail.

The court, led by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, rejected the FIA’s petition during the hearing.

Judicial Proceedings

Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb sought information regarding Bushra Bibi’s location, to which her attorney, Barrister Salman Safdar, affirmed her attendance in court.

The judge urged the counsel to regard the matters with gravity, underscoring the necessity of adherence to trial protocols.

The court sought details about instances where Bushra Bibi had been exempted from attending trial hearings and clarified that if the High Court grants bail and the accused fails to appear, the trial court holds the authority to cancel the bail.

Justice Aurangzeb assured that such actions would not amount to contempt of the High Court’s order.

Based on these considerations, the court closed the proceedings and dismissed the FIA’s plea.

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