Cross-examination of witnesses completed in cipher case
Pakistan
Cross-examination of a total of 25 witnesses in the cipher case was completed.
RAWALPINDI (Dunya News) - A lengthy hearing of the cipher case against the PTI founding chairman and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was held in special court established under the Official Secrets Act in Adiala Jail on Monday during which cross-examination of 11 witnesses was completed on Monday.
Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain heard the cipher case against PTI founding chairman and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi.
During the hearing, the cross-examination of former Foreign Secretary Sohail Mehmood, former Principal Secretary Azam Khan, former Interior Secretary Yusuf Naseem Khokhar, Interior Secretary Aftab Akbar Durrani, former ambassador to the United States Asad Majeed was completed. It is pertinent to mention that the cross-examination of a total of 25 witnesses in the case was completed.
After cross-examination of the witnesses, questionnaires have been prepared to record the statements of the accused under Section 342. The court will resume hearing today (Tuesday).
Earlier in the day, the cipher proceedings were again disrupted on Monday as the two accused – PTI founding chairman and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi – got angered and started shouting.
As the situation worsened, the special court judge opted for a temporary break after which the hearing started again.
Qureshi objected to the state-appointed defense counsel during cross-examination, expressing difficulty attending court in the current situation. PTI lawyer Salman Safdar noted that the Islamabad High Court had deemed the trial invalid, yet the case persisted in this court for the third time.
During the last hearing on Saturday, the special court judge – Abual Hasnat Mohammad Zulqarnain – decided to appoint state counsel for representing the two accused, as the defence lawyers again failed to appear before the court.
The move triggered chaos in the court as the accused reacted angrily, forcing the special court judge –to warn them.
It was Qureshi who first snatched the file of the case from the state defence counsel [the lawyer provided by the court to a defence party] and threw it away while also resorting to shouting. Similarly, the PTI former chairman used insulting language against the judge during the hearing held at the Adiala jail.
According to the court decision, Malik Abdul Rehman and Hazrat Younus would represent the PTI founding chairman and Qureshi respectively as the state defence counsel and cross examine the prosecution witnesses.
Earlier on Friday, Raja Rizwan Abbasi – the FIA prosecutor – had requested the special court established under the Official Secrets Act to close the defence counsel’s right of cross-examination, saying the defence was applying delaying tactics to prolong the trial.
He said one of the witnesses had come from the UAE to attend the court proceedings, but the defence counsel did not bother to come to the court.
