ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – A special court set up under the Official Secrets Act on Wednesday indicted the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the cipher case.
Judge Abual Hasanat Zulqarnain read out the indictment in the presence of PTI's ex-chief and Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
The judge told the “accused” that the indictment was framed on three charges; the cipher was waved in a public rally and its content was discussed; as prime minister and as foreign minister, cipher was not sent back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and cipher was used deliberately and harmed national integrity and security.
The “accused” pleaded not guilty to the charges.
After the indictment, the regular trial of the cipher case will begin in Adiala Jail.
Later, the court adjourned hearing of the case for Thursday.
FIA special prosecutors Shah Khawar and Zulfiqar Abbas Naqvi, former PTI chief's counsel Usman Gul and Qureshi's lawyer Barrister Taimur Malik appeared before the court.
Reuters adds: The fresh indictment on charges of leaking state secrets delivered a fresh blow to the jailed leader's chances of contesting next year's federal elections.
The charge is related to a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan's ambassador in Washington last year, which the ex-PTI chairman is accused of making public.
The former prime minister previously said contents of the cable appeared in the media from other sources.
A guilty verdict under the Official Secrets Act could bring up to 14 years in prison or even a death sentence, lawyers say.
It is the second time he has been indicted on the same charges after a superior court struck down an earlier indictment on technical grounds, saying the correct procedure had not been followed.
The PTI founder says the cable was proof of a conspiracy by foreign elements to topple his government in 2022 after he had visited Moscow just before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The charismatic cricketer-turned-politician won the last general elections in 2018.
He has had dozens of legal cases filed against him, which he has denounced as an effort to banish him from politics. He has been convicted in one graft case and sentenced to three years in jail.
The sentence was suspended but he remains in prison in connection with other cases, including instigating violence and the official secrets case.
He also remains disqualified from contesting elections due to his conviction in the graft case, but his legal team is pushing for his release on bail and an overturning of the ban.
However, his indictment in the official secrets acts case has decreased his chances of being released from jail to campaign for his party in the lead up to the polls.