IHC Speaks about Cipher Case

Imran Khan Cipher Case 03 Apr 2024 Islamabad High Court

        In Islamabad, a court said that Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi didn't reveal what was in a secret message during their speeches in March 2022. They're appealing their conviction for misusing the message. They were sentenced to 10 years in jail for using it wrongly.

        Their lawyer argued that the message was never made public during their speech, and the verdict was given before Qureshi's statement. The lawyer also said that these laws are meant for enemies, not political rivals. The court questioned if the information in the message could have been shared through normal channels instead of the secret one. The lawyer argued that since no copy of the message was found with Imran or Qureshi, the case against them is wrong.

        The lawyer said that Imran was punished for not returning the message, but argued that the message is still kept in the Foreign Office. He also said that there were many copies of the message sent, but only one was used in the case, and the rest were not returned. The court said Imran was also sentenced for not returning the message, and adjourned the hearing to continue discussing this point later.