ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – A special court formed under the Official Secrets Act has indicted the chairman and vice-chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the cipher case on Monday.
Hearing of the case took place at the Adiala Jail where the special court judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain announced the decision. However, the PTI chairman and vice-chairman, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, have pleaded not guilty.
Since the arrests in August this year, the PTI chairman and former foreign minister are imprisoned in the Adiala Jail.
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The special court judge rejected the chairman PTI request regarding halting the case proceedings with a direction that today (Monday) had been fixed for the decision. The court adjourned the proceedings till Oct 27 and summoned the witnesses’ statements on that day.
During the last hearing, special court judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain, after resuming the proceeding, ordered the distribution of copies of the challan (charge sheet) among the defence counsel.
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The cipher case relates to a diplomatic document that reportedly went missing from the PTI chief’s possession. The PTI alleges that the document contained a threat from the United States to oust the party chairman as the prime minister of Pakistan.