Islamabad: Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Mian Gul Aurangzeb raising questions over cipher text remarked, “No one knows about cipher text but enemy gains advantage from it.”

Hearing, presided over by Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb addressed appeals against conviction of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan and former Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in cipher case.

Founder PTI’s lawyers, including Salman Safdar and representatives from Federal Investigation Agency, notably prosecutor Hamid Ali Shah and Zulfiqar Abbasi Naqvi, were present during proceedings.

During hearing, court delved into intricacies of cipher case, with Chief Justice Aamir Farooq questioning absence of clarity regarding cipher text.

Chief Justice emphasised potential ramifications of adversaries gaining an advantage amidst ambiguity surrounding cipher. In courtroom brimming with legal minds, defense, led by founder PTI’s lawyers Salman Safdar emphasised need for meticulous scrutiny, highlighting discrepancies and missing links in case.

Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb queried whether PTI founder Imran Khan had ever accessed code. In response, lawyer Salman Safdar asserted that there had been no such access, firmly stating that case did not fall within jurisdiction of FIA.

Maintaining his stance, Safdar reiterated that original cipher stayed within confines of Foreign Office, dispelling notions of its unauthorised distribution. PTI’s legal representation emphasised erroneous use of term ‘cipher’ in case.

Published in The Daily National Courier, March, 26 2024

Like Business on Facebook, follow @DailyNCourier on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.