A special court in Islamabad, established on Monday to handle cases under the Official Secrets Act, has granted the Federal Investigation Agency( FIA) a four- day physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf( PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a cipher case.
Qureshi, who was restrained by the FIA on Saturday, appeared before the special court for the hail of a cipher case registered under the Official Secrets Act. The hail was presided over by Judge Abu al Hasnat, ananti-terrorism court( ATC) judge, specifically assigned to this case. At the morning of the hail, the FIA prosecutor requested a 13- day physical remand for Qureshi to prop in the recovery of the alleged missing cipher. still, advocate Shaheen, representing Qureshi, opposed the FIA’s plea.
The FIA prosecutor informed the court that PTI principal Imran Khan, who’s presently confined, had also been interrogated in connection with the disquisition into the case at Attock jail. Following the arguments, the court reserved its verdict on the FIA’s plea. Judge Hasnat ordered the junking of unauthorized individualities from the courtroom before the launch of the in- camera hail, emphasizing that it was a matter under the Official Secrets Act.
A heavy contingent of Islamabad police was stationed outside the courtroom, and only PTI attorneys Shoaib Shaheen, Intizar Panjotha, Gohar Ali, and Ali Bukhari were allowed to remain inside the courtroom. The proceedings of the court will remain nonpublic in agreement with the law. This special court was established amid contestation over the blessing of the Official Secrets Act by President Arif Alvi. The law was ratified shortly before the dissolution of the National Assembly on August 7.
Both Shah Mahmood Qureshi and PTI Chairman Imran Khan have been charged under the act for allegedly using politic cipher information for political purposes. The FIR stated that they revealed the contents of a classified document to unauthorized individualities and manipulated data for particular earnings, posing a trouble to state security interests. Shah Mahmood Qureshi was arrested in connection with the case on Saturday, while a case against Imran Khan was registered by the Federal Investigation Agency( FIA) on August 15, invoking Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act of 1923.