Following the sensational suspension on Monday of former Pakistan Prime Minister, Imran Khan’s three year conviction for corruption and the direction of the appeal court judge that he should be bailed, a separate ‘special’ court has decreed that he be held on judicial remand for a period of two weeks until 13th September, to appear before a special court on charges of leaking state secrets. The two weeks will allow the prosecution to investigate Imran Khan’s role in leaking classified information in a case, which has become known as the ‘cypher case’.
Imran Khan detained to answer charges regarding leaked classified information
Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister is accused of publishing for his own political benefit, classified information taken from a cable sent by the Pakistan Ambassador to the United States. The fact that the contents of the cable exposed a conspiracy by the United States to undermine the Pakistan Prime Minister’s position and to oust him, seems to be of limited legal consequence.
The former foreign minister of Pakistan and vice chairman of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has also been arrested to appear before the courts on the same issue.
One appeal hearing after another
Imran Khan’s lawyer, Salman Safdar, confirmed that a petition has been presented to the court once again, seeking bail. The hearing will take place on Saturday 1st September. He also said:
‘We have also filed another appeal challenging the jail trial and have demanded that the case be heard in an open court and not in camera’
The ‘cypher case’ is central to Imran Khan’s public position that he was aware of a conspiracy to have him removed from office by the military at the behest of the United States, following Khan’s visit to Russia just prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Following Khan’s conviction in the corruption case, he was immediately banned by the election commission from participating in elections for 5 years. Notwithstanding that there are over 100 legal cases pending against him and despite the fact that his party has been desecrated and its leadership collapsed, the question remains as to whether the suspension of the conviction will now allow Imran Khan to participate in the elections – now scheduled to take place in early 2024.
