of Pakistan’s Islamabad High Court on Monday acquitted the country’s former prime minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a highly publicized cryptocurrency case. The two former leaders appealed in the High Court after a special court sentenced them to 10 years in prison in January. The court’s Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb accepted their appeal, coming as a huge relief to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party (PTI), which Khan founded and led during his tenure as prime minister from 2018 to 2022.
The Cypher case involves leaking state secrets. The defendants were first charged in October and then charged again in December after the Islamabad High Court ruled that the notice of prison trial the defendants received was false and the first hearing was invalid. More specifically, Khan and Qeresi faced charges of improperly handling diplomatic communications with the United States. The documents allegedly contained threats from the US government to the Pakistani government.
The prosecution argued that the mishandling of diplomatic communications constituted a breach of national security. It further argued that the former prime minister continually ignored warnings about the codes. The defence, on the other hand, argued that there was no substantial evidence to show that Khan had knowingly concealed the codes. If the codes had been lost, it would have been impossible to convict him of possessing them. Furthermore, the defence argued that there was no evidence that any damage had been caused to international relations as a result of the exchange.
The court held that the prosecution’s case was mere allegation and did not meet the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt to prove intent to endanger national security. The High Court examined the inconsistencies in the prosecution case and the proportionality of the 10-year sentence imposed by the Special Court. The court ruled in favour of Khan and Qureshi and allowed their appeals.
The defense also argued that the length of time already served did not justify any further delay. This case underscores the importance of due process in relation to the rule of law, as well as the need to meet the burden of proof.
Despite the acquittal, both former leaders will remain in prison as they were convicted in other cases. Many are celebrating the verdict and calling for Khan’s release.“Today is a historic day in the nation’s struggle for freedom, justice, rule of law, upholding the Constitution, true democracy, human rights and our Haqee-i-Azadi!” the PTI party’s official X account posted on Monday.
The former prime minister now simply awaits the verdict in the pending Idat case, which is scheduled to be heard later this month.
