ISLAMABAD, JAN 30: A special court established under the Official Secrets Act on Tuesday handed both former premier Imran Khan and ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi 10 years in jail in the cipher case.

The cipher case pertains to a diplomatic document that the Federal Investigation Agency’s charge sheet alleges was never returned by Imran. The PTI has long held that the document contained a threat from the United States to oust Imran as prime minister.

The verdict comes nine days before the February 8 general elections, which the PTI is contesting amid a state crackdown and without an electoral symbol.

Both Imran and Qureshi have been in jail in the run-up to the elections. While Imran’s candidature was rejected, Qureshi was cleared to run for an NA seat from Thar. But today’s conviction means that both of them have been disqualified from contesting elections for the next five years.

This is Imran’s second conviction as he was also convicted in the Toshakhana case on Aug 5, and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had suspended his sentence. However, a division bench had later rejected Imran’s petition seeking the suspension of the conviction.

This is the former foreign minister’s first conviction.

Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain announced the verdict in the case. At the outset of the hearing, Imran and Qureshi were given a questionnaire under Section 342 (power to examine the accused) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

After Imran recorded his statement, the court asked him about the whereabouts of the cipher, to which he replied: “I have said the same in my statement that I do not know. The cipher was in my office.”

The judge then sentenced the two to 10 years in jail in the case. After announcing the verdict, the judge stepped out of the courtroom, at which Qureshi protested that his statement was not recorded.

PTI decries ‘sham trial’, to challenge verdict in IHC
In a post on X, PTI’s official account issued a statement saying that Pakistan stood with Imran and Qureshi “who defended Pakistan and stood for haqeeqi azadi”.

“No such sham trial can change what happened in March-April 2022, on the orders of Donald Lu,” the statement added.

“A complete mockery and disregard of the law in the cipher case shall not lead us to forget our primary responsibility in order to provide justice to Imran and Qureshi.”

The statement urged the public to come out and vote on February 8.

“God willing kaptaan and vice kaptaan will be back soon, and this sentence will be (thrown) in the dustbin in the appeal stage,” it concluded.

PTI leader Gohar Khan said that the special court judge had announced the verdict in haste, adding that proceedings were not being conducted in accordance with the law and the Constitution.

“He asked questions himself and the way our witness was cross-examined, you cannot find any such examples in history,” he said while speaking to the media outside the Islamabad High Court.

He requested all the “well-wishers” of the country to show patience and not react to the court order in any capacity.

“We trust the high and the Supreme Court. At the end of the day, we will eventually get relief. Even if they convict us then it would be quashed […] Do not get angry, don’t take the law in your hands. You do not have to throw a single stone, you should show patience,” he said.

Speaking to the media in Islamabad, Imran’s sister Aleema Khan alleged that someone was “giving instructions” to Judge Zulqarnain.

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 per cent” 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 National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser termed the court’s decision “extremely painful” and “controversial”, adding that the legal requirements for the case were not carried out.

“It is absolutely clear that the decision is biased. God willing, we will challenge it in the high court and the Supreme Court,” he said in a video statement, adding that the decision was rushed by the courts.

“There were two proceedings in one day so the people are clear that this was the murder of justice,” the PTI leader said. “We will get our revenge by voting,” he said, expressing hope that the verdict would be discarded when moved before a higher court.

“I want to tell my workers that they should be encouraged, not to get violent or get disappointed,” Qaiser said.

Speaking to Geo News, PTI counsel Barrister Ali Zafar said he would file an appeal tomorrow in the Islamabad High Court, calling it a “blessing in disguise.”

“The case was going good but in recent days the judge changed everything and this was a mistrial. A criminal trial needs to be a fair trial,” he said.

When asked if 10 years was a long enough punishment for the PTI leaders, Zafar said, “Punishment is handed out when a crime has been committed. There was no crime committed, and no trial held.”

PML-N says sentence ‘justified’, ‘win for state’
Former interior minister and PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah said there was no debate that the cipher was a classified document, claiming that Imran had used the document for political purposes.

Speaking to Geo News, he said: “The punishment is completely justified, and it was given via legal means. They (PTI) have the right to appeal this decision and even go to the Supreme Court.”

“What the Supreme Court meted out to the PTI in terms of disqualifying a political party is completely different from jeopardising national security,” Sanaullah added.

In a press conference later, PML-N leader and former law minister Azam Nazir Tarar said Imran “used a classified document to save his government” and “made a joke out of the Official Secrets Act”.

“Without worrying about Pakistan’s foreign affairs, he used the document to dissolve Pakistan’s National Assembly — which was later overturned by the Supreme Court,” he recalled.

Tarar said that an inquiry was later initiated in the case by the then cabinet but Imran never found it necessary to respond or defend himself. He further stated that even during the trial proceedings, the PTI founder boycotted the hearings several times. “At the end of the day, the law had to take its own course.”

“It was also reported that Imran recorded a detailed statement in which he admitted to revealing the contents of the cipher and losing the confidential document,” Tarar claimed. “But despite all this, Imran was apt that none of the charges against him amounted to a criminal offence.”

He added that the matters of relief and punishment were between the suspect and the court. “I believe that we should look at it as a purely judicial matter,” Tarar said.

Meanwhile, PML-N leader Attaullah Tarar said the cipher matter was “clear from day one”, alleging that the national security of the country was put on the line to gain political mileage.

Speaking to DawnNewsTV, Tarar said Imran’s lawyers did not present themselves before the court and opted for delaying tactics.

“Today is the win for the state of Pakistan,” he added. “Enemies of Pakistan made fun of us over all this. Anti-Pakistan lobbies published articles.”

The PML-N leader said the punishment was according to the law and no one had the right to violate the Official Secrets Act.

Case history
The former premier and Qureshi, who is also behind bars, were first indicted in the case in October. Both had pleaded not guilty. The IHC had termed the government’s notification for a jail trial “erroneous” and scrap­ped the entire proceedings.

The special court had begun the cipher trial afresh last month at the Adiala district jail after Imran and Qureshi were indicted for a second time in the case on December 13.

On December 22, the Supreme Court had approved the post-arrest bails of Imran and Qureshi. While Imran remained incarcerated in other cases, Qureshi’s expected release was also stalled as he was manhandled and re-arrested in a fresh May 9 case.

Days later, Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb had restrained the special court from proceeding against the suspects — including Qureshi — till Jan 11, noting that there were “legal errors” in the case.

However, the stay order on the in-camera trial was withdrawn earlier this month after the state counsel assured that the witnesses’ statements would be recorded afresh.

On January 18, the special court had recorded the statement of five witnesses, including former principal secretary Azam Khan. Other witnesses comprised Aneesur Rehman, Javed Iqbal, Hidayatullah and Mohammad Ashfaq.

Azam Khan claimed that the cipher never returned to his office and he had intimated the prime minister, his military secretary as well as the relevant staff numerous times.

The next day, the caretaker government had approached the Supreme Court challenging the IHC’s November 21 verdict that declared the trial illegal.

In a subsequent hearing, Imran had claimed that the cipher was still with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and he received a rephrased version of the diplomatic cable.

On January 22, the special court recorded the statement of another four witnesses, including ex-foreign secretary Sohail Mehmood and former interior secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar.

Mehmood had said that the copy sent to the ex-PM was never returned while Qureshi said that he returned the copy to the ministry and the ex-secretary replied in the affirmative.

The next day, six more prosecution witnesses recorded their statements. Initially, there were 28 witnesses, but only 25 testified before the court after three witnesses were dropped from the list.

Besides Interior Secre­tary Aftab Akbar Durrani, ex-envoy to the US Asad Majeed recorded his statement in the case. When Majeed concluded that there was no word of “conspiracy” or “threat” in the diplomatic cable, Imran retorted that why the government then issued the demarche to the US.

In the next hearing, the court concluded the cross-examination of four prosecution witnesses.

The FIA prosecutor then alleged that the defence side was applying delaying tactics to prolong the trial and urged the court to close the defence counsel’s right of cross-examination. Subsequently, Judge Zulqarnain appointed Abdul Rehman and Hazrat Younis as defence counsel for both PTI leaders in the next hearing.

Imran had said his lawyers could not appear before the court as they were contesting the upcoming general elections.

He had termed the trial nothing less than a “joke”, saying that the prosecution and defence team both belonged to the government.

A day ago, Imran was reluctant to appear before the judge. However, Qureshi appeared before him to attend the proceedings. The prison authorities allowed only three court reporters to cover the proceedings of the cipher case that continued for over 13 hours.

BAKU, JAN 30 /DNA/ – Pakistan Ambassador to Azerbaijan Bilal Hayee met with the  Head of FP Affairs of Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev and discussed bilateral agenda and issues of mutual interest. Pakistan, Azerbaijan friendship has deepened over the years & 2024 will infuse new vigor to our bilateral ties.-DNA

AGP tells the top court that the notices will be issued again after the elections

DNA

ISLAMABAD: Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan on Tuesday assured the Supreme Court that no action would be taken against journalists, who were issued notices over their alleged involvement in smear smearing, till the general elections slated for February 8.

The development came during the hearing of a suo motu case which was taken up along with an old case heard in 2021 pertaining to the harassment of journalists.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Muhammed Ali Mazhar and Justice Mussarat Hilali conducted the hearing of the case.

On January 17, the caretaker government formed a five-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to ascertain the facts behind a malicious social media campaign against the Supreme Court judges after the apex court gave a verdict on election symbol of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The JIT constituted under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 consists of officials from police, FIA and intelligence agencies.

The FIA’s list titled “JIT-SM campaign against CJP and State Institutions” which has names of 47 media persons and YouTubers went viral on social media.

A day earlier, the top judge said the Supreme Court cannot stop any journalist or even the general public from expressing criticism, directing the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) not to take legal action against them for critiquing the apex court.

The AGP, during the hearing today, told the top court that the notices will be issued again after the elections.

Today’s hearing

AGP Awan and the Press Association of Supreme Court’s officials appeared before the court.

At the outset of the hearing, CJP Isa asked if any petition was filed today. To this, the press association’s president said that the plea could not be filed as the FIA did not provide a list.

CJP Isa said that the top court did not issue an order because of this, adding that he was expecting a petition to be filed. “The court cannot issue any order until the matter is heard in the judges’ committee,” he added.

Later, he asked where the joint investigation team’s notification was. “If the court takes a suo motu notice like this then the journalists would object,” he added.

Justice Mazhar apprised that those who received the notices could have submitted their answers.

“Has anyone appeared before the FIA?” questioned Justice Mazhar.

At this, AGP Awan said that the JIT was stopped till today.

Journalist Matiullah Jan told the court that attempts were being made to control the media. He then pleaded that the institutions should summon them in connection with the notices after Feb 8 polls.

“The federal government should be asked to create a social media code of conduct in collaboration with stakeholders,” said a lawyer.

CJP Isa asked whether the court could issue an order like this.

“There is no law to regulate digital media. The law is only for criminal proceedings,” replied Justice Mazhar.

The chief justice said that the court can only request the stakeholders to sit together.

Rockets fired by terrorists fell onto Mach Jail Colony, Levies police station; no casualties reported in the attack

MACH: Security forces repulsed a “fire raid” attempt by Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) terrorists in Balochistan’s Mach area late Monday, reported Geo News citing sources.

Mach city echoed with explosions and plunged into darkness after terrorists fired several rockets from mountains, followed by heavy gunfire, on Monday night..

People were trapped in their homes due to explosions and firing, while firing also started in Kolpur and Gokhart Bibi Nani areas.

According to security sources, unidentified persons fired 15 rockets from the mountains at 9:30pm in the Mach area of Kuchi Bolan.

Two rockets fell onto Mach Jail Colony, one landed in the Levies police station, four rained into the FC headquarters and eight rockets landed in the city and surrounding areas.

As the rockets exploded with strong bangs and heavy firing started, the city plunged into darkness, and soon the market closed.

The explosions were so loud that the windowpanes of many houses were broken. According to sources, the administration blocked all kinds of traffic in Dharar and Kolpur. The sound of explosions and firing continued to be heard till late night in Gokhart Bibi Nani and Kolpur.

The sources said security forces had received intelligence about the terrorist attack and laid an ambush for the terrorists.

The terrorists retreated after being overwhelmed by the effective response of the security forces, they added.

Security forces have launched a search operation against the fleeing terrorists, as per the insiders

Balochistan’s interim information minister Jan Achakzai said security forces “successfully thwarted three coordinated attacks” carried out by terrorists in the Mach area on Monday night.

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi have been sentenced to 10 years, each, in the cipher case.

The decision was announced by special court Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain during the hearing held at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. 

The special court had begun the cipher trial afresh last month at the Adiala district jail after Imran and Qureshi were indicted for a second time in the case on December 13.

The former premier and Qureshi, who is also behind bars, were first indicted in the case in October. Both had pleaded not guilty. The IHC had termed the government’s notification for a jail trial “erroneous” and scrap­ped the entire proceedings.

In December, the Supreme Court had approved the post-arrest bails of Imran and Qureshi. While Imran remained incarcerated in other cases, Qureshi’s expected release was also stalled as he was manhandled and re-arrested in a fresh May 9 case.

Days later, Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb had restrained the special court from proceeding against the suspects — including Qureshi — till Jan 11, noting that there were “legal errors” in the case.

Last week, state defence counsels had been appointed due to the previously appointed ones who had agreed to conduct cross-examinations not appearing in the next two court hearings.

Imran had said the trial was nothing less than a “joke” because the prosecution and defence team both belonged to the government.

The special court has been established under the Official Secrets Act 2023. Judge Zulqarnain has been holding hearings of the case in Adiala Jail since it started last year. 

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

Before announcing the verdict, Judge Zulqarnain, during the hearing, reminded the PTI leaders that their lawyers were not appearing in court and were given state lawyers.

The court also observed that Qureshi and Imran were given the questions under 342. However, Qureshi said that his lawyers are not present so how can they record their statement. 

The verdict comes a day after the hearing was adjourned when the proceedings were disrupted due to Imran and Qureshi’s ruckus in the courtroom.

Imran, Qureshi get state lawyers 

On Saturday, the judge had decided to appoint state counsel to represent the PTI leaders, as the defence lawyers again failed to appear before the court.

According to the court decision, Malik Abdul Rehman and Hazrat Younus were asked to represent the PTI founding chairman and Qureshi, respectively as the state defence counsel and cross-examine the prosecution witnesses.

In November of last year, after Khan and Qureshi challenged their indictment in the case, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared their jail trial “null and void” while allowing their intra-court appeals in the case.

However, the federal cabinet yet again approved the summary of holding the jail trial of both politicians following which the trial continued.

Gohar asks PTI workers to remain calm

As soon as the verdict was announced, Khan’s successor Barrister Gohar Ali Khan urged party workers to remain calm and urged them not to take the law into their hands over the verdict.

“An effort is being made to shift our focus from the elections, everyone will be held accountable on February 8,” Gohar told journalists at the Islamabad High Court.

Talking about the case, Gohar said cases against the PTI chief are being conducted without taking into account the Constitution and law. He added that the judge hearing the case was asking questions on his own.

The PTI leader also hinted that they would appeal the verdict, saying that the party has faith in the IHC and Supreme Court. 

What is ciphergate?

The controversy first emerged on March 27, 2022, when Khan — less than a month before his ouster in April 2022 — while addressing a public rally waved a letter before the crowd, claiming that it was a cipher from a foreign nation that had conspired with his political rivals to have PTI government overthrown.

He did not reveal the contents of the letter nor did he mention the name of the nation it came from. But a few days later, he accused the United States of conspiring against him and alleged that Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Donald Lu had sought his removal.

The cipher was about former Pakistan ambassador to the US Majeed’s meeting with Lu.

The former prime minister, claiming that he was reading contents from the cipher, said that “all will be forgiven for Pakistan if Imran Khan is removed from power”.

Then on March 31, the National Security Committee (NSC) took up the matter and decided to issue a “strong demarche” to the US for its “blatant interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan”.

Later, after his removal, then-prime minister Shehbaz Sharif convened a meeting of the NSC, which came to the conclusion that it had found no evidence of a foreign conspiracy in the cable.

In the two audio leaks that took the internet by storm and shocked the public after these events, the former prime minister, then-federal minister Asad Umar, and then-principle secretary Azam could allegedly be heard discussing the US cipher and how to use it to their advantage.

RAWALPINDI: /DNA/ – On 28th January 2024, a convoy of Pakistani Peacekeepers was ambushed in Abyei (disputed area between Sudan and South Sudan) while escorting two local patients to a hospital. Pakistani peacekeepers responded effectively and forced the militants to retreat. However, during exchange of fire, Sepoy Muhammad Tariq (resident of Badin, Sindh) embraced martyrdom while four individuals including two officers were injured.

Pakistan’s peacekeeping contingents have always distinguished themselves by virtue of their professionalism and devotion to duty.

Todate, 181 Pakistani peacekeepers have laid their lives while serving the cause of peace around the world.

Pakistan remains committed to its role as a responsible member of the international community and will continue to contribute towards global peace and stability under the auspices of the United Nations.

DNA

RAWALPINDI:  On 29 January 2024, Security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan District, on reported presence of terrorists.

During the conduct of operation, intense fire exchange took place between own troops and terrorists as a result of which Terrorist Naikman Ullah was sent to hell.

The killed terrorist remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities including target killing of innocent civilians. Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the killed terrorist.

Sanitization operation is being conducted to eliminate any other terrorist found in the area. Security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country.

ISLAMABAD, JAN 29 – Terming his party’s manifesto remedy for all the crises ahead of the nationwide polls, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has blamed ‘powerful lobbies and bureaucracy’ for the country’s long-standing problems.

Bilawal was interacting with students of the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) Islamabad campus on Monday regarding his party’s manifesto “Chuno Nai Soch Ko (Choose new thinking)”.

Promising strict measures to end the control of elites and powerful lobbies, the PPP chairman reiterated his vow to provide relief to the underprivileged segments after abolishing all subsidies to the superior class of society.

The election campaigns of all political parties equipped with mollifying manifestos and promises are in full swing across the country ahead of the February 8 vote. PML-N and PPP are eyeing the premier’s office and desperately swaying voters to elect them to power.

bilawal
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“Inflation, poverty, unemployment and climate change are key issues being faced by the country which needed to be addressed on a priority basis,” said the PPP chief, adding that the economic crisis posed a serious risk to Pakistan.

He said that he and economic experts prepared the party’s manifesto, promising a pro-public economic plan to cope with all crises and immediate relief to the masses.

“Elites, powerhouses and fertiliser industry get annual subsidies worth Rs1,500 billion in our country. We will end all subsidies to the elites and spend the funds to provide relief to the underprivileged segments.”

“We will abolish 17 ministries if voted to power. The country will definitely see economic stability if we invest in agriculture, communication and energy sectors.”

Elaborating on expected difficulties in implementing his plan, Bilawal admitted that “powerful lobbies create problems and a powerful reaction will come from the powerful sector after the abolishment of ministries.”

The politician explained his experience while being part of the previous Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government as a foreign minister. “I spent 18 months in the federal government and knew about the mentality of Islamabad’s bureaucracy.”

Blaming the bureaucrats for hindering the country’s progress, Bilawal said, “They don’t want to work nor do they want anyone else to do something.”

He believed that the nation would definitely support those rulers and their policies who provided them with 300 free electricity units and other facilities.

Bilawal said that the country was facing the severe consequences of the politics of division and hate. Advocating his point of view, the politician said that no one could implement any manifesto without changing the mindset.

He added that PPP could create green jobs for the nation and successfully address the longstanding national issues by providing relief to weak segments and flood affectees on top if elected to power.

After unveiling the manifesto, the Bilawal-led party will also launch the “Bhook Mitao Programme” which will ensure food security, by aiming to make nutritious food available at affordable prices, boost domestic production, subsidise local producers, and connect women with the market economy as active entrepreneurs.

The party had earlier announced the following 10-point agenda for the manifesto:

Double real income for wage earners — 8% increase every year
Free solar energy of 300 units for the poor; every district to have green energy parks
Education for all — rolling out projects for better education
Free health for all across Pakistan
Three million houses for flood affectees and the poor
Ghurbat Mitao: Expand BISP’s scope; introduce more welfare schemes
Khushhaal Kisaan: BISP-like programme for farmers and ‘Hari Card’
Enhanced support for labourers through Benazir Mazdoor Card
‘Youth Card’ for unemployed youth and ‘Youth Markaz’
‘Bhook Mitao Programme’

RAWALPINDI, JAN 29 /DNA/ – Opening ceremony of two weeks long Joint Exercise Al-BADAR-VIII was held at National Counter Terrorism Centre, Pabbi with participation of contingents from Pakistan Army and Bahrain National Guards.

Al-BADAR is a annual bilateral joint exercise in Counter Terrorism domain between Pakistan and Bahrain.

Director General Military Training was the Chief Guest of opening ceremony.

The exercise is aimed at nurturing of joint employment and interoperability besides, harnessing the historic military to military relations among the brotherly countries.

Both countries have displayed zeal and enthusiasm for benefiting from each others’ expertise / experience.