Lahore:

An anti-terrorism court here on Monday charged top Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a case involving the burning down of a police station during the May 9 violence last year.

Mr Qureshi, 68, who was brought to Kot Lakhpat jail here from Adiala jail in Rawalpindi under tight security, has several cases related to May 9 violence, including arson, filed against him at the Shadman police station.

The court had summoned Mr Qureshi to initiate indictment proceedings against him and ordered the prosecution to present witnesses in the next hearing scheduled for July 22.

Mr Qureshi, who was produced before ATC Judge Khalid Arshad, however, denied the charges.

“As Mr Qureshi was presented before the ATC judge, charges were framed against him for his alleged abetment in torching Lahore’s Shadman police station. Mr Qureshi pleaded not guilty and maintained that a fake case has been instituted against him for being loyal to Imran Khan,” a court official told Press Trust of India after the hearing.

The indictment of Mr Qureshi, who is also the vice-chairman of PTI, came hours before the Pakistan government announced its decision to ban Khan’s PTI for its alleged involvement in anti-state activities.

The Lahore police had registered a case against several leaders and activists of the PTI on the charges of attacking and burning down the Shadman police station during the May 9 riots following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan by the Rangers in an alleged corruption case.

Besides this case, multiple cases related to the May 9 violence have been lodged against Mr Qureshi in Lahore alone.

Mr Qureshi has been in prison since he and Mr Khan, 71, were sentenced by a Pakistani court to 10 years in jail for violating the Official Secrets Act by making a diplomatic cable public when the PTI founder was in power.

Though the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on June 3 acquitted Mr Khan and Mr Qureshi in the Cipher case, suspending their 10-year sentence, the two remain in jail as they are named in multiple cases in connection with the May 9 violence across Pakistan.

Mr Qureshi was earlier this year indicted in eight more cases related to the May 9 violence.

The May 9 riots were triggered across the country after Khan was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the 190-million-pound corruption case. He is currently facing over 200 cases and has been in jail since August last year.

Hundreds of PTI workers and senior leaders were put behind bars for their involvement in violence and attacks on military installations, including the Jinnah House, ISI building in Faisalabad and General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, last year on May 9.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Pakistan former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
| Photo Credit: AP

Pakistan’s jailed former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was on Sunday implicated by the police in eight more cases in connection with the unprecedented mayhem on May 9 in 2023 following the arrest of ex-premier Imran Khan in a case of alleged corruption, according to a media report on Monday.

The 67-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader is currently imprisoned in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail after his conviction in various cases.

On Sunday, a special police team approached the Anti-Terrorism Court in Lahore seeking permission to arrest, interrogate and summon Qureshi in an FIR registered with the Sarwar Road police station, Geo News reported.

However, the court denied the permission citing “security reasons”. Instead, the court allowed the investigation officer to visit Adiala Jail for interrogation of the former Foreign Minister within three days.

“The accused shall be deemed to be on physical remand for that purpose,” read the court order.

Riots were triggered almost across the country on May 9 last year after Khan’s arrest in the 190 million pounds settlement case. Hundreds of PTI workers and senior leaders were arrested for their involvement in violence and attacks on key military installations.

A special court established under the Official Secrets Act had handed Qureshi 10 years in jail in the cipher (secret diplomatic communication) case along with the jailed former premier Khan.

During the May 9 protests, the miscreants targeted the civil and military installations including — Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

Terming the May 9 violence as “Black Day”, the military decided to try the protesters under the Army Act.

Reacting to the police implicating Qureshi in more cases, a spokesperson of the PTI said that the court had already granted bail to the former ruling party’s vice-chairman in these cases.

“Law was flouted again to keep Qureshi behind bars by making the court’s order ineffective practically,” he said.

The spokesperson said that Qureshi was being punished for firmly sticking with the ideology of the PTI founder. Lawlessness was reaching new highs in the country, he added.

A Pakistani court on October 27 rejected petitions by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan seeking bail and cancellation of the first FIR in the cipher case for allegedly leaking state secrets and violating the laws of the country.
| Photo Credit: AP

A Pakistani court on October 27 rejected petitions by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan seeking bail and cancellation of the first FIR in the cipher case for allegedly leaking state secrets and violating the laws of the country.

Mr. Khan, 71, was arrested in August after a case was filed against him for disclosing a secret diplomatic cable (cipher) sent by the country’s embassy in Washington in March last year. A special court in Pakistan on October 23 indicted him along with his close ally ex-Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the case.

Mr. Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, had approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) with the pleas for bail in the case as well as against the FIR which was registered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in August.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq after the conclusion of the hearing had reserved judgment on October 16 which he announced on Friday.

The case is about a document sent by Pakistan’s embassy in Washington in March 2022 that Mr. Khan tried to use for political purposes by saying that it was proof of a foreign conspiracy to orchestrate his ouster from power in April last year.

Mr. Khan, who served as Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to April 2022, is accused of “misuse the contents of the cipher” to build a narrative that his government was ousted due to a foreign conspiracy hatched by the U.S., a charge denied by Washington.

Mr. Khan and Mr. Qureshi have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on September 30 presented the charge sheet against Mr. Khan and Mr. Qureshi who signed its copies.

On October 26, the Islamabad High Court rejected Mr. Khan’s petition challenging his indictment in the case.

The court was earlier set to indict Mr. Khan on October 17, but it delayed it after Mr. Khan’s lawyers objected that he was not provided with the copies of the chargesheet.

The cipher reportedly went missing from Mr. Khan’s possession. Mr. Khan had repeatedly said before and after the no-confidence motion against him last year that the cipher pointed to a conspiracy to remove him from the Prime Minister’s office.

Mr. Khan was ousted through a vote of no-confidence in April 2022. He was incarcerated on August 5 this year, after an Islamabad court sentenced him to three years in prison in the Toshakhana case. The PTI chief was lodged in the Attock District Jail to serve his prison term.

Later, his sentence was suspended by the Islamabad High Court, but then he was arrested in the cipher case and remained in the Attock jail on judicial remand. He was later shifted to Adiala jail.

More than 150 cases have been registered against Mr. Khan since his ouster from power in April last year.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A special court in Pakistan on October 23 indicted that former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the cipher case for allegedly violating the secret laws of the country.

Mr. Khan, 71, was arrested in August after a case was filed against him for allegedly violating the Official Secrets Act by disclosing a secret diplomatic cable (cipher) sent by the country’s embassy in Washington in March last year. Former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was also indicted along with Khan.

Mr. Khan had used that document to build a narrative that his government was ousted as a result of a foreign conspiracy. The hearing of the case was held at the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi by special court judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain. Mr. Khan and Mr. Qureshi have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

After the indictment, the court adjourned the hearing till October 27 when it will start the formal trial.

Earlier after hearing the case last week, the court had adjourned the hearing till October 23 with the remarks that Mr. Khan and Mr. Qureshi would be indicted on that day.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on September 30 presented the charge sheet against Mr. Khan and Mr. Qureshi who signed its copies.

The court was earlier set to indict Mr. Khan on October 17 but it delayed it after Mr. Khan’s lawyers objected that he was not provided with the copies of charge sheet.

The cipher case concerns a diplomatic cable, which reportedly went missing from Mr. Khan’s possession. Imran Khan had repeatedly said before and after the no-confidence motion against him last year that the cipher pointed to a conspiracy to remove him from the Prime Minister’s office.

Mr. Khan has been in jail due to cipher case since the Islamabad High Court on August 29 granted him bail in the Toshakhana case in which he was arrested on August 5 from Lahore.

More than 150 cases have been registered against Imran Khan since ouster from power in April last year.

Imran Khan. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A special court in Pakistan, on October 17, adjourned till October 23 the indictment of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his close aide Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case for allegedly violating the secret laws of the country.

The case pertains to a secret diplomatic document that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan used to criticise his opponents for allegedly orchestrating his ouster from power in April last year.

The document reportedly went missing from his possession. Imran Khan’s party alleges that the document contained a threat from the U.S. to oust Mr. Khan from office.

The special court set up by the government held the in-camera hearing at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail after the Islamabad High Court on October 16 rejected a plea by Mr. Khan against holding his trial in jail.

Judge Abual Hasanat Zulqernain adjourned hearing till October 23 with the remarks that Mr. Khan and former Foreign Minister Qureshi would be indicted on that day.

Barrister Salman Safdar and Khalid Yousuf Chaudhry were present as 71-year-old Khan’s counsels, the Dawn newspaper reported. “Mr. Qureshi’s wife and daughter also reached the court. However, it was not confirmed whether they were allowed to attend the hearing,” it said.

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) special prosecutor Shah Khawar, Mr. Khan, Mr. Qureshi and their legal teams were all present during the hearing. Mr. Khawar told journalists that the indictment proceedings will take place next Monday (October 23), Geo News reported.

“On October 23, the charges will be framed and the indictment will be filed. After the indictment, the regular trial of the cipher case will begin,” he said. As per the court’s orders of October 9, both PTI leaders were expected to be indicted in the case on Tuesday.

However, the indictment could not take place on Tuesday with the court only distributing the copies of the challan (charge sheet) among the suspects. Speaking to the media after the hearing, lawyer Sher Afzal Marwat said that Mr. Khan and Mr. Qureshi will now be indicted during the next hearing.

Imran Khan was ousted through a vote of no-confidence in April 2022. He was incarcerated on August 5 this year, after an Islamabad court sentenced him to three years in prison in the Toshakhana case. The PTI chief was lodged in the Attock District Jail to serve his prison term.

Later, his sentence was suspended by the Islamabad High Court, but then he was arrested in the cipher case.