Islamabad High Court acquits ex-PM Imran Khan, Qureshi in cipher case but duo to stay in jail

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday (June 3) acquitted ex-Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case. The duo had moved the court to seek relief after a special court sentenced both of them to 10 years in prison in January this year.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb accepted their appeal and acquitted the former premier and diplomat.

Watch:Pakistan: Court relief for Khan in riots case

The cipher case involves allegations against Khan that he never returned a diplomatic document sent by the US that allegedly contained threats by Washington DC to topple his government.

Cipher case history

The two leaders were first indicted in the case in October last year. However, they got relief from the IHC as it termed the government’s notification for a jail trial “erroneous” and cancelled the entire proceedings.

Then the duo was indicted for the second time in December, following which their trial began in a special court.

As the trial was underway, the Supreme Court granted the duo post-arrest bails in the cipher case. Imran remained in jail as he was charged under other cases as well but Qureshi was not released either, and he was re-arrested in a fresh case.

The duo to stay in jail

Despite the relief from the IHC in the cipher case, the duo is expected to stay in jail due to convictionin other cases.

Dawn, Pakistan's major newspaper, reported that Qureshi won't come out of jail as he is facing May 9 cases.

The May 9 riotswere a series of clashes that took place in Pakistan following thearrest of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaderImran Khan. The caretaker government of the Pakistan had blamed Khan and Qureshi for the violent riots.

Khan is convicted in a case linked to his marriage to his third wife, Bushra Khan, which was deemed to contravene Islamic traditions.

(With inputs from agencies)