Politics

Shah Mahmood Qureshi likely to be freed from Adiala jail today

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Staff Reporter

3 years ago

In a separate case involving surety bonds totaling Rs. 1 million each, the SC has granted Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s bail.

RAWALPINDI: Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the vice-chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), is expected to be released today after the Supreme Court granted his bail in the cipher case last Friday.

Barrister Taimur Malik, his attorney, has arrived at the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi with his bail bonds in this regard.

Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain has arrived at the jail to hear the case on behalf of the special court created by the Official Secrets Act of 2023.

Also present at the jail premises is Bushra Bibi, the wife of PTI founder Imran Khan, lawyers Umair Niazi and Rai Muhammad Ali.

The apex court, on December 22, approved Khan and Qureshi’s post-arrest bail in the cipher case against surety bonds of Rs1 million each. The court ruled that the discretion exercised by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in declining bail to the petitioners was exercised perversely.

After examining the material available on record, the court found that there was no sufficient incriminating material available at this stage to show that Khan communicated the information contained in the cipher telegram received from PAREP (Ambassador), Washington, USA, to the public at large with the intention or calculation, directly or indirectly, in the interest or for the benefit of a foreign power, nor the disclosed information related to any of the defence installations or affairs, nor did he disclose any secret official code to the public at large.

The court, after converting the petitions into an appeal, allowed it and set aside the impugned orders of the IHC.

Imran and Qureshi had filed appeals in the apex court against the IHC orders, issued on Oct 27, 2023 and Nov 8, 2023, whereby the post-arrest bail had been declined to them in case, FIR No 6/2023, registered at Police Station CTW/FIA, Islamabad, for the offences punishable under Sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act 1923, read with Section 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) 1860. Both Imran and Qureshi are incarcerated at Adiala Jail in the cipher case.

It should be noted that the PTI founder and vice-chairman, on December 13, were indicted in the cipher case again by the special court established under the Official Secrets Act 2023 after the IHC declared their jail trial null and void.

Both politicians have pleaded not guilty to their involvement in the offence related to the alleged misuse of diplomatic cable for political purposes.

Staff Reporter