Imran Khan Moves Islamabad HC Challenging Conviction in Cypher & Toshakhana Cases

Barrister Ali Zafar, the lawyer representing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, filed separate petitions before the Islamabad High Court against his sentences in the Toshakhana and cypher cases.

The Toshakhana plea designated the state and the accountability bureau as respondents and urged the IHC to “suspend the execution of the conviction and sentence” imposed on Imran.

In the petition submitted by Imran’s lawyer, the state and Interior Ministry Secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar were cited as respondents in the case. It further requested the high court to overturn the conviction and sentence and acquit him of the charges.

The petition also argued that the trial court rushed to judgment without affording the suspect an opportunity for a fair trial.

Earlier, on Friday, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the vice chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and a former Foreign Minister, lodged a petition with the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against his conviction in the Cypher case. On January 30, a special court established under the Official Secrets Act sentenced Imran and Qureshi to ten years in prison in the cypher case.

According to sources, Qureshi filed a plea against the cypher case conviction, urging the IHC to declare the trial court’s January 30 decision null and void. The plea asserted that the trial in the cypher case was not conducted in accordance with the law and that due process was breached during the trial, which commenced on August 15 last year. The cypher case revolves around a diplomatic document that, as per the Federal Investigation Agency’s charge sheet, was never returned by Imran Khan. The PTI alleged that the document contained a threat from the US for Imran to step down as prime minister. Imran and Qureshi have been undergoing trial at Adiala Jail since last year for allegedly ‘distorting’ the facts of the diplomatic cypher case. Both PTI leaders were accused of conspiring to abuse the cypher’s contents for ‘nefarious reasons.’

An Accountability Court (AC) in Pakistan last month sentenced Imran and his wife Bushra Bibi to 14 years in jail in the Toshakhana case. The judge also imposed a fine of Pakistani rupee (PKR) 787 million. The PTI founder and his wife were additionally disqualified from holding any public office for ten years.