Cipher case: PTI chairman files bail plea in SC

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and PTI chairman on Friday approached the Supreme Court (SC), seeking bail in missing cipher case, ARY News reported.

The PTI chairman filed a bail plea through his counsel Salman Safdar.

The petition maintained that the cipher case is just another example of the ‘politically motivated cases’ targeting the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman.

The PTI chairman contended that the bail application has been filed under Article 185 of the Constitution. The cipher case is a manifestation of the maliciousness of the FIA (Federal Investigation Agency), he pleaded.

The petitioner urged the apex court to overturn IHC order in cipher case and set him free.

Islamabad High Court (IHC) last Friday rejected the bail plea of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman in the cipher case.

Cipher case

The first information report (FIR) was registered on August 15 under the Official Secrets Act. It was registered on the complaint of the Home Secretary.

Former prime minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi were nominated in the report, while names of former principal secretary Azam Khan and former planning minister Asad Umar were also mentioned.

The FIR stated that the former prime minister and foreign minister distorted the facts of the diplomatic cipher. “A conspiracy was launched to misuse the contents of the cipher to fulfill nefarious purposes”, it added. It further stated that the former premier and top diplomat endangered the state interests.