A special court set up under the Official Secrets Act on Tuesday sentenced both former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to 10 years in prison in the encryption case.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's indictment, the encryption case involves diplomatic documents that were never returned by Imran. PTI had long believed that the document contained a threat by the US to oust Imran as prime minister. The ruling comes nine days before parliamentary elections on February 8, in which the PTI will contest under state repression and without an electoral symbol.
Mr. Imran and Mr. Qureshi were jailed before the election. Imran's candidacy was rejected, but Qureshi was given permission by Tarr to run for the NA seat. However, today's ruling means both men will be banned from participating in elections for the next five years. This is Imran's second conviction, having previously been convicted in the Toshahana incident on August 5 and sentenced to three years in prison. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended his sentence. However, the district court later denied Imran's request to suspend the sentence. This is the first time a former foreign minister has been found guilty. Special Judge Abu Al Hasnat Zulkarnain announced the verdict in the case. At the beginning of the hearing, Mr. Imran and Mr. Qureshi were given a questionnaire under Article 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (power to interrogate the accused). After recording Imran's statement, the court asked him about the whereabouts of the code, to which Imran replied, "I said the same thing in my statement, but I don't know. The code was in my office." was found guilty. The two were later sentenced to 10 years in prison for the incident. After the verdict was announced, the judge left the courtroom and Qureshi protested that his statement had not been recorded.
PTI decries ‘sham trial’, to challenge verdict in IHC
In the post "Such a sham trial cannot change what happened in March-April 2022 under Donald Lu's orders," the statement continued.
“The complete ridicule and disregard for the law in the crypto case should not make us forget our primary responsibility to bring justice to Mr. Imran and Mr. Qureshi.”
The statement called on people to go to the polls on February 8th. “God willing Kaptan and Deputy Kaptan will be back soon and this judgment will be thrown in the trash at the appeal stage,” it concluded.
PTI chief Gohar Khan said the special judge had passed the verdict in haste, adding that the trial was not conducted by the law and the constitution.
"He asked his own questions and the way he cross-examined our witnesses is unprecedented in history," he told the media outside the Islamabad High Court.
He called on all "well-wishers" in the country to show patience and not react in any way to court orders. "We trust the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court.
At the end of the day, we will finally experience relief. Even if they convict us, it will be abolished […] Don't be angry, don't take the law into your hands. "There is no need to leave a stone unturned. We should show patience," he said.
Speaking to the media in Islamabad, Imran's sister Aleema Khan claimed that someone had "given instructions" to Judge Zulkarnain.
She said that as the cross-examination of the witnesses had to begin, “names of others started coming forward, including Donald Lu, who sent the message (cipher), and General [Qamar Javed] Bajwa, who received it.”
Aleema said the sentence was given due to the fear of Lu, the US State Department official, and ex-army chief Gen Bajwa being summoned for cross-examination.
She urged “100 percent” of the voters to voice their opinion in the upcoming general elections, saying there would be “no better revenge” than that.
PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan urged party workers to “remain calm and not indulge in any activity that undermines our traditional stance of a peaceful struggle”.
“We will appeal against this decision in the high court and continue our battle,” he said. “The current kangaroo court ruling will not deter us from foregoing this principle come what may,” he added.
“We should harness and channel these energies for the polling day on February 8 to ensure that PM Imran Khan’s nominated candidates are returned to the assemblies with a thumping majority,” he said.
“Sham trial. Sham decision. It will be reversed. Don’t fall in their trap. Our vote on February 8 will be our first response,” said PTI’s Taimur Jhagra.
Former parliament speaker Asad Qaiser said the court's decision was "very painful" and "controversial", adding that the legal requirements for the case were not met.
"Punishment is given when a crime is committed. No crime was committed and no trial was held,
" PTI chief Zafar said. PML-N says the verdict is "just" and a "victory for the nation" Former interior minister and PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah said there was no dispute that the code was a secret document and claimed that Imran used it for political purposes.
"This punishment is completely justified and was imposed through legal means," he told Geo News.
They (PTI) have the right to appeal this decision and even approach the Supreme Court. ”
"What the Supreme Court granted PTI regarding disqualifying a political party is completely different from endangering national security," Sanaullah added.
At a subsequent press conference, PML-N leader and former justice minister Azam Nazir Tarar said Imran had "used classified documents to save the government" and "made a joke of the Official Secrets Act".
"Without caring about Pakistan's foreign policy, he used this document to dissolve Pakistan's parliament, which was later overturned by the Supreme Court," he recalled.
Tarar said the then-cabinet subsequently launched an investigation into the incident, but Imran never felt the need to react or defend himself. He further said that the PTI founder had already boycotted several hearings during the court proceedings.
“In the end, the law had to go its own way.” "It was also reported that Mr. Imran had divulged the contents of the code and recorded a detailed statement in which he admitted to having lost confidential documents," Tarar claimed.
"Despite all this, Mr. Imran was satisfied that none of the charges against him constituted a criminal offense."
He added that issues of redress and punishment are between the suspect and the court. "I think it should be looked at purely as a judicial issue," Tuller said.
Meanwhile, PML-N leader Attaullah Tallah said the encryption issue had been "clear from day one" and claimed that the country's security was being violated for political gain. In an interview with Dawn News TV, he said Imran's lawyer did not appear in court and opted for delay tactics.
"Today is a victory for the Pakistani nation," he added. "Pakistan's enemies are making fun of us. Anti-Pakistan lobby groups have published articles." The PML-N leader said the punishment was in accordance with the law and that no one had the right to violate the Official Secrets Act.
Case history
Qureshi, who is also in prison like the former prime minister, was first charged in the case in October. Both men maintained their innocence. The IHC said the government's announcement of a prison trial was "erroneous" and canceled the entire trial.
The special court had last month resumed the crypto trial at Adiala District Jail after Imran and Qureshi were indicted for the second time on December 13. On December 22, the Supreme Court approved the post-arrest bail of Imran and Qureshi.
Imran remains in custody on other cases, but his planned release was delayed after Qureshi was abused and rearrested on May 9 in a new case.
A few days later, Judge Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb blocked the special court from proceeding against Qureshi and other suspects until January 11, citing "legal errors" in the case.
However, the suspension of the closed trial was reversed earlier this month after prosecutors committed to rerecording witness statements.
The special court had recorded the statements of five witnesses, including former general secretary Azam Khan, on January 18. Other witnesses included Anesur Rehman, Javed Iqbal, Hidayatullah, and Mohammad Ashfaq.
Azam Khan claimed that the code never made it back to the Prime Minister's Office and that he had pointed it out to the prime minister, army chief, and officials multiple times. The next day, the transitional government filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court challenging the IHC's November 21 ruling that found the trial illegal.
In a subsequent hearing, Imran claimed that the code remained with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that he had been given a rewritten version of the diplomatic cable. On January 22, the special court recorded the testimony of four more witnesses, including former Foreign Minister Sohail Mehmood and former Interior Minister Yousaf Naseem Khokhar.
Mehmood said the copy he sent to the former prime minister was not returned, but Qureshi returned the copy to the ministry and said the former chief had responded in the affirmative. The next day, six more prosecution witnesses recorded statements.
There were originally 28 witnesses, but after three witnesses were removed from the list, only 25 testified in court. Besides Home Minister Aftab Akbar Durrani, former US envoy Asad Majeed has also recorded his statement on the incident. When Mr. Majeed concluded that the diplomatic cable did not contain the words "conspiracy" or "blackmail," Mr. Imran replied that the government had since defected to the United States. At the next hearing, the court finished cross-examining the four prosecution witnesses.
The FIA prosecutor then asked the court to exclude the defense's right to cross-examination, alleging that the defense was using delaying tactics to prolong the trial.
Later, in the next hearing, Justice Zulkarnain appointed Abdul Rehman and Hazrat Younis as legal advisors to both PTI leaders. Imran had said that his lawyers could not appear in court because they were participating in the upcoming general elections.
He described the trial as simply a "joke" and said both the prosecution and defense teams were government officials. The previous day, Imran was reluctant to appear before a judge. However, Qureshi appeared before him to attend the hearing. Prison authorities allowed only three court reporters to cover the encryption process, which lasted 13 hours.
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