Islamabad: In a major relief to the embattled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday acquitted PTI founder Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case.
A two-member bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb announced the short verdict on the pleas challenging the conviction in the cipher case after reserving it earlier the day.
The court ordered that Khan and Shah “shall be released forthwith, if not incarcerated in any other case”.
A special court, established under the Official Secrets Act, had handed both Imran and Qureshi 10-year jail sentences each in the case in January after Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain appointed a state counsel for them.
The cipher case pertains to a diplomatic document that the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) charge sheet alleges was never returned by then-PM Imran, who long held that the document contained a threat from the US to topple his government.