Court allows incarcerated PTI chairman to talk to sons over phone
- By Farrukh Ijaz -
- Oct 18, 2023
ISLAMABAD: A special court, established to hear cases under the Official Secrets Act, on Wednesday granted permission to former prime minister and PTI chairman Imran Khan — presently held at Attock Jail — to have a telephonic conversation with his sons.
Former premier Imran Khan, who is in judicial custody in cipher case, has been incarcerated in Attock prison since his arrest on August 05.
In a plea filed before Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain today, the former premier sought permission to have a talk with his sons on the phone.
The court accepted the former prime minister’s plea and instructed the prison administration to facilitate the telephonic conversation between the applicant and his sons in accordance with the law.
Yesterday, the special court formed under the official secrets act deferred the indictment of the former prime minister and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a cipher case.
Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain heard the case in Adiala Jail under the Official Secrets Act 2023 in the presence of senior prosecutor, Shah Khawar, PTI Chairman and former foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
Cipher case
The first information report (FIR) was registered on August 15 under the Official Secrets Act. It was registered on the complaint of Home Secretary.
Former prime minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were nominated in the report, while names of former principal secretary Azam Khan and former planning minister Asad Umar were also mentioned.
Read more: Official Secrets Act: Special court constituted for hearings
According to the report, action also will be taken against Azam Khan and Asad Umar after the authorities reached the conclusion that they were also involved in misusing the classified documents.
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 former premier and top diplomat endangered the state interests.
The report claimed that former prime minister asked Azam Khan – the then principal secretary – to “manipulate the contents of cipher”. “The former premier deliberately kept the copy of diplomatic cipher, which was sent to the PM office”, it added.