THE Special Court established under the Official Secrets Act awarded on Tuesday former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi 10 years rigorous imprisonment in the high-profile cipher case. The court, presided by Judge Abul Hasanat Zulqarnain, announced the verdict during the hearing held within the premises of Rawalpindi’s Adela jail after the two recorded their statements under Section-342. Before announcing the verdict, the court asked the former Prime Minister one last time where the cipher was, to which Imran Khan said the security of the PM House was not his responsibility and he has no cipher with him.
The judgement is not the final word on the case as the accused have the opportunity to challenge it at higher judicial forums but for the time being difficulties for the incarcerated leader of the PTI have increased and intensified and that too ahead of the general election. The development might have a demoralizing effect on workers and supporters of the party with consequences for the polls. The party has reacted bitterly to the decision describing the case as ‘sham’, and ‘bogus’ and the verdict as ‘abrupt’. The party leadership demonstrated maturity by advising workers and supporters to remain calm and peaceful, hoping they would get relief from the High Court and the Supreme Court. It is, no doubt, for the judiciary to look into the merits and demerits of the case but apparently PTI has to blame itself for the cipher saga. This is because the issue was widely used to shield the former Prime Minister and his Government against a purely constitutional and parliamentary move of vote of no-confidence. Holders of public office are under oath not to disclose official secrets that come to their knowledge during discharge of their responsibilities. It was in this backdrop that another former PM Nawaz Sharif, in his reaction to the judgement, said he had neither compromised national security nor revealed any state secret to save his rule. His party’s legal wizards Azam Nazir Tarar and Rana Sanaullah believed the punishment was completely justified as the cipher was a classified document which was used for political purposes. Legal and constitutional aspects of the case would come under intensive scrutiny during appeal stages but holders of public office must exercise caution in handling such issues.
