Daily Times

A special court in Islamabad, formed on Monday to hear cases filed under the Official Secrets Act, has granted Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) four-day physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a cipher case. Qureshi, who was arrested on Saturday by the FIA, was presented before the special court today for the hearing of a cipher case registered under the same act.

Judge Abual Hasnat, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) judge, conducted the hearing on the case registered against Qureshi under the Official Secrets Act. At the outset of the hearing, the FIA prosecutor sought Qureshi’s 13-day physical remand for the recovery of the alleged missing cipher while his counsel Shoaib Shaheen opposed the FIA’s plea.

The FIA prosecutor informed the court that incarcerated PTI chief Imran Khan was also interrogated in connection with the investigation into the case at Attock jail, the sources said. After hearing the arguments, the court reserved the verdict on the FIA’s plea. After a while, the judge announced the reserved verdict and ordered the FIA officials to present Qureshi before the court on August 25 (Friday). Earlier, Judge Hasnat ordered expelling unauthorised people from the courtroom, prior to the start of the in-camera hearing.

“It is a matter of the Official Secrets Act, irrelevant people should leave,” the judge said. A heavy contingent of Islamabad police was deployed outside the courtroom.