A Pakistan special court on Tuesday extended judicial remand of former prime minister Imran Khan for another 14 days in the Cipher case, blighting the chances of his early release.
As per media reports, Khan has been sent to jail on remand for the third time as the previous 14-day remand ended today.
About the Cypher Case
Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan, also the chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was arrested last month after a case was filed against him for allegedly violating the Official Secrets Act by disclosing a cable (a.k.a. cipher) send by the country’s embassy in Washington last year in March.
The special court judge Abual Hasnat Zulqernain conducted hearings in the District Jail Attock, where Khan has been detained since August 5 after his arrest following conviction in the Toshakhana case.
After the hearing, the court ordered to keep him in judicial custody until October 10 to complete the probe.
The court also extended remand of former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi for the same period.
The cipher case is based on the alleged leaking of a cable sent by the Pakistan embassy in Washington in March last year.
In March last year, ahead of the vote of no-confidence that resulted in his ouster, Khan pulled out a piece of paper - allegedly the cypher - from his pocket and waved it at a public rally in Islamabad, claiming it was the evidence of an "international conspiracy" being hatched to topple his government.
However, during the interrogation with the joint investigation team (JIT) in the jail on August 26, Khan denied that the paper he waved at a public gathering last year was the cypher. He also admitted to losing the cypher, saying he couldn't recall where he kept it.
Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi have been attending hearings in the case, while PTI leader Asad Umar’s and former principal secretary Azam Khan’s involvement are supposed to be determined during the course of the investigation.
Toshakhana Case
The Toshakhana is known to be a federal government department which is bestowed with the responsibility of all the valuables received by the officials and elected leaders while in office.
The Toshakhana case says that Khan “deliberately concealed” details of the gifts he retained from the Toshakhana, a repository where presents handed to government officials from foreign officials are kept, during his time as the prime minister and proceeds from their reported sales.
Khan is accused of misusing his 2018 to 2022 premiership to buy and sell gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and worth more than Rs 140 million (USD 635,000).
