The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday granted bail to former Prime Minister Imran Khan and ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the much-anticipated cipher case.
The country’s top court, headed by Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justices Athar Minallah and Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, approved the bail, directing PTI leaders to submit surety bonds of Pkr 1 million each. The cipher case revolves around a controversial diplomatic communication that has been in the news ever since the ouster of the former Pakistan prime minister in April last year.
Imran Khan and his long-time aide Qureshi had previously asserted that the document contained a threat from the US to remove Imran as the prime minister. Both PTI leaders were indicted in the case on October 23 but both pleaded not guilty. The trial started at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, with four witnesses having already recorded their statements.
However, the proceedings faced a setback when the Islamabad High Court (IHC) deemed the government’s notification for a jail trial as “erroneous” and annulled the entire process. Despite this, the IHC endorsed Imran Khan’s indictment and instructed the special court judge to ensure a “fair trial.”
Last month, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) moved the country’s top court, seeking post-arrest bail for Imran Khan in the cipher case. The apex court’s decision to grant bail comes amid ongoing legal battles surrounding the allegations. The approval of bail with the requirement of surety bonds marks a significant development in the case.
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