Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Mian Gul Aurangzeb on Monday raising questions over cipher text remarked that "no one knows about the cipher text but enemy gains advantage from it."
The hearing, presided over by Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb, addressed appeals against the conviction of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and former federal minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the cipher case.
Founder PTI's lawyers, including Salman Safdar, and representatives from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), notably prosecutor Hamid Ali Shah and Zulfiqar Abbasi Naqvi, were present during the proceedings.
During the hearing, the court delved into the intricacies of the cipher case, with Chief Justice Aamir Farooq questioning the absence of clarity regarding the cipher text. ~
The chief justice emphasised the potential ramifications of adversaries gaining an advantage amidst the ambiguity surrounding the cipher.
In a courtroom brimming with legal minds, the defense, led by founder PTI's lawyers Salman Safdar, emphasized the need for meticulous scrutiny, highlighting discrepancies and missing links in the case.
They argued that the original cipher remained within the confines of the Foreign Office, suggesting that the alleged misuse of the term "cipher" had led to a misunderstanding.
Conversely, the prosecution, represented by FIA prosecutor Hamid Ali Shah, contended that the decoded ciphers were routinely destroyed, underscoring the complexity of the case.
Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb queried whether PTI founder Imran Khan had ever accessed the code. In response, lawyer Salman Safdar asserted that there had been no such access, firmly stating that the case did not fall within the jurisdiction of the FIA.
Safdar further contended that cipher Security lacked access to the secret code, raising doubts about how the system could have been compromised. He announced intentions to present applications highlighting these concerns before the court the following day.
The defense revealed that they had previously requested the trial court for cipher guidelines, a plea which was dismissed. Chief Justice Aamir Farooq echoed the significance of a document central to the case, emphasizing its absence from the record or, at the very least, the lack of its text.
Detailing the prosecution's stance, Safdar indicated that the case revolved around the purported theft of a cipher from the Foreign Office, allegedly passed on to an adversary nation. He contested the investigating officer's failure to acknowledge receipt of a cipher copy, rebutting the FIA prosecutor's claim that it was documented in a register.
As Safdar read the statement of Cipher Section officer Shimoon, Barrister Salman Safdar pointed out apparent gaps in the narrative. Meanwhile, lawyer Hamid Ali Shah elucidated the existence of the Secret Section Political (SSP) within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Safdar referenced testimony from Foreign Office witness Shimoon, underscoring that the original cipher remained within the Foreign Office premises. He criticized the misapplication of the term "cipher" in the FIR, asserting that it ceased at the Foreign Office, where it was decoded into plain text before dissemination.
Maintaining his stance, Safdar reiterated that the original cipher stayed within the confines of the Foreign Office, dispelling notions of its unauthorized distribution. PTI's legal representation emphasized the erroneous use of the term "cipher" in the case.
