Today, a special court is set to charge former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and ex-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the cipher case. The accusation involves leaking a diplomatic cable.
The special court, established under the Official Secrets Act and presided over by Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain, will conduct the hearing in Adiala Jail, where both PTI chief and Qureshi are currently held.
In the previous hearing, the court ordered copies of the charges to be given to the accused and decided to formally charge them in the next hearing.
It's important to note that the trial is taking place in Adiala Jail despite the Islamabad High Court's order for an open trial, citing security concerns for the former PTI chief. The Interior Ministry issued a notification for the trial to be held in jail during the last hearing.
In the Cipher case, the PTI chief is accused of violating the Official Secrets Act by disclosing a secret diplomatic cable known as the Cipher. This cable was sent by Pakistan's embassy in Washington in March of the previous year, and Khan allegedly lost possession of it later.
Both the PTI chief and Shah Mahmood Qureshi had claimed that the cable contained a threat from the US to topple the PTI government, which was in power in Pakistan at that time. The leaders were indicted on October 23, but a fresh indictment is required following an order from the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Both the PTI chief and Shah Mahmood Qureshi have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
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