TheLittleTwentieth – Renowned Papers Edition, AI Infused

Local sources from Pakistan: DAWN.com, Business Recorder.
UK coverage: DAWN.com.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has requested that an “ex-army general and a US envoy” be summoned for the cipher trial he is currently facing. Imran made this request during the proceedings at Adiala Jail, where he is currently incarcerated. While the PTI lawyer did not name the former military officer, media persons who attended the hearing mentioned ex-army chief retired General Qamar Javed Bajwa. The trial is related to a diplomatic document that was allegedly not returned by Imran and the PTI claims it contained a threat from the United States to oust him as prime minister.

On Monday, PTI lawyer Babar Awan said that Imran Khan wants an “ex-army general and a US envoy” to be summoned by the special court hearing the cipher case. According to Awan, Imran said this during the case proceedings at Adiala Jail, where he is currently incarcerated. “Imran Khan has said that the US embassy representative should be called and he also took the name of a former general,” he said during a media talk.

The special court has ruled that Imran and his ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will be indicted in the case again on December 12. During the hearing, Qureshi had urged the special court to summon President Dr Arif Alvi so he could testify before the court whether he had assented to changes in the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

In August, President Alvi had denied approving changes to the Secrets Act — under which the cipher trial is being held — and the Pakistan Army Act while the law ministry had rebuked his statement and asked him to “take responsibility for his own actions”.

The PTI lawyer also lamented that international media was not allowed to attend the hearing. For his part, the FIA prosecutor said the law ministry’s notification was clear and the case hearing was being conducted in accordance with that.

After the hearing ended, it came to light that three reporters from different TV channels were allowed to witness the proceedings, but that too after the hearing had ended and the prosecutors had already left the courtroom.

In a media talk after the hearing, Awan said the PTI and public were fully prepared for elections. “The PTI will contest from every seat and our candidates will contest from every seat. No other party is as prepared for elections as we are,” he asserted. “The Constitution says and people believe that the way forward for Pakistan is to close these fictitious cases and trials,” the lawyer said.

Awan went on to say that people should be given the chance to elect leaders of their choice. “No other way will work,” he added. He further stated that foreign media, international observers, and bloggers should be allowed to attend the cipher trial as the case had an “international dimension”.

The developments in the case have been closely monitored by the international media, with many local and international journalists outside the jail when the hearing began. As the trial progresses, the world will be watching to see how the case unfolds and the implications it may have for the upcoming elections in Pakistan.