Pakistan: Special court extends Shah Mahmood Qureshi's physical remand for another two days
Aug 28, 2023
Islamabad [Pakistan], August 28 : A special court in Islamabad on Monday extended the physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi for another two days in the cipher case, Pakistan-based Dawn reported.
The special court in Islamabad has been established to hear cases lodged under the Official Secrets Act. After Qureshi's arrest on August 19, a local magistrate in Islamabad remanded the PTI Vice Chairman in Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) custody for a day. Later, a special court again handed him to the agency twice and declared the proceedings as in-camera.
At the previous hearing, the court had asked FIA to present Shah Mahmood Qureshi in court on August 28. After the proceedings ended, the PTI leader's lawyer Shoaib Shaheen said that his client’s remand had been extended for another two days, according to Dawn report.
Shaheen even said that the special court judge had said that physical remand would not be granted further if there was no development in the case.
Earlier this month, the FIA arrested Pakistan's former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in connection with a first information report (FIR) lodged on August 15 under the Official Secrets Act against PTI chairman Imran Khan and Qureshi, as per the Dawn report.
The FIR alleged that Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and their other associates were involved in the communication of information included in a secret classified document (cipher telegram). The cipher telegram was received from Parep Washington dated March 7, 2022, to the Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs to unauthorised persons by “twisting facts to achieve their ulterior motives and personal gains in a manner prejudicial to the interests of state security."
The case was lodged after an American news outlet The Intercept published what was claimed to be the contents of the diplomatic cable that went missing from Imran Khan's possession. Imran Khan has claimed that he was ousted from office under a "US conspiracy," Dawn reported. The PTI claimed that the cipher included a threat from the United States to remove Imran Khan from power.
On Saturday, a six-member FIA team questioned Imran Khan in Attock Jail for over an hour. Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been imprisoned after his conviction in the Toshakhana case.
