Open hearing of Imran Khan's bail plea in cipher case could pose 'risk of deteriorating ties' with other countries: FIA tells court

Pakistan's top investigation agency Monday informed a court here that an open hearing of former premier Imran Khan's bail plea in a case related to the alleged disclosure of state secrets could pose a “risk of deteriorating relations” with other countries.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Saturday filed a charge sheet in the Special Court established under the Official Secrets Act, declaring Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Khan and Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi ''principal accused'' in the cipher case.

Both Khan and Qureshi are currently detained in jail on judicial remand.

The FIA on Monday informed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that an open hearing of Khan’s bail plea in the cipher case could pose a “risk of deteriorating relations with other countries,” Dawn newspaper reported.

The post-arrest bail pleas of Khan and Qureshi were rejected by the special court earlier, following which the former premier approached the IHC seeking the same.

Khan, 70, was arrested in August after the case was filed against him for allegedly violating the Official Secrets Act by disclosing a secret diplomatic cable (cipher) sent by the country's embassy in Washington last year in March.

Qureshi, 67-year-old former foreign minister, was arrested under the Official Secrets Act for violating the secrecy of the official cable sent by the Pakistani embassy in the US to the foreign office when he was the foreign minister.

On September 26, the judicial remand of Khan and Qureshi was extended till October 10 and as per the IHC’s orders, the PTI chairman was shifted to Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail from the Attock district jail.

Last week, the FIA filed a petition in the IHC seeking in-camera proceedings of Khan’s bail plea in the case. On Monday, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq took up the FIA’s plea. ''We also have to present statements regarding other countries before the court. By bringing such statements before an open court, there is a risk of deteriorating relations with other countries,” prosecutor Shah Khawar said during the hearing.

Additional Attorney General (AAG) Munawar Iqbal Dogal also presented the code of conduct for diplomatic state documents before the IHC.

Khan’s lawyer Salman Safdar pointed out that the FIA’s request, which was meant to prevent matters from being made public, contradicted its stance that the PTI chief had already “made the cipher public”.

Subsequently, the IHC reserved its verdict on the FIA’s plea seeking in-camera proceedings of Khan’s bail plea.

Separately, a two-member bench of the IHC on Monday accepted a set of petitions filed by Khan’s party against trial courts’ decisions to dismiss his bail in nine cases.

Last month, local courts of Islamabad had rejected nine petitions of the PTI chief seeking bail in first information reports (FIRs) registered against him over violent protests.

Meanwhile, a special court on Monday summoned Khan and Qureshi on October 4 in the cipher case.

Special court judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain issued notices to respondents saying that statements of witnesses are sufficient to summon the accused in the court, Geo News reported.

The judge directed the superintendent of Adiala jail to present the PTI leaders before the court on October 4.

Khan and Qureshi have been placed in column 3 in the charge sheet which describes the names and addresses of the accused sent for trial.

The FIA invoked in the charge sheet sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act which may lead to a death sentence, or two to 14 years’ imprisonment if proven.

The cricketer-turned-politician is charged with the violation of the Official Secrets Act in connection with the leakage of a confidential diplomatic cable from Pakistan's embassy in Washington.

In March last year, ahead of the vote of no-confidence that resulted in his ouster, Khan pulled out a piece of paper - allegedly the cipher - from his pocket and waved it at a public rally in Islamabad, claiming it was the evidence of an “international conspiracy” being hatched to topple his government.

However, during the interrogation with the joint investigation team (JIT) in the jail on August 26, Khan denied that the paper he waved at a public gathering last year was the cipher. He also admitted to losing the cipher, saying he couldn't recall where he kept it.

His principal secretary Azam Khan stated before a magistrate and the FIA that the Khan used it for his ‘political gains’ and to avert a vote of no-confidence against him.

The purported cipher (secret diplomatic cable) contained an account of a meeting between US State Department officials, including Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, and Pakistani envoy Asad Majeed Khan last year.

Of late, Khan has come under increased scrutiny following the publication of a purported copy of the secret cable by the US media outlet The Intercept, with many in the previous government led by Shehbaz Sharif pointing fingers at the PTI chief for being the source of the leak.

Khan, who served as the country's prime minister until April last year, currently faces around 180 cases. These cases primarily stem from incidents that occurred following the sacking of the Lahore corps commander's house on May 9.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)