Ex-PM Khan approaches Islamabad High Court for bail in case related to secret diplomatic cable

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan filed a bail application in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday in a case registered under the Official Secrets Act of 1923 in which he has been accused of divulging the contents of a confidential diplomatic cable for political purposes.
The development follows the decision of a special court conducting his prison trial in the matter which turned down his bail petition on Thursday. Khan has been in District Jail, Attock, since he was arrested from his residence in Lahore in corruption case last month.
The former prime minister mentioned the diplomatic dispatch from a country’s former envoy to Washington for the first time at a rally in Islamabad right before his ouster in a no-confidence vote in April of last year, telling his party supporters it proved a US conspiracy to topple his administration.
While the US denied being involved in any such conspiracy, Pakistani authorities accused Khan of compromising the state’s secret communication system with its diplomatic missions abroad and set up the special court to hold his trial.
According to Dawn newspaper, the ex-premier petition has asked the court to grant him post-arrest bail until the final disposal of the case.
“Never before, history has witnessed the ‘arrest’ and ‘prosecution’ of a former prime minister and a former foreign minister under this law,” the newspaper shared the content of the bail application that also made a reference to Khan’s close aide and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi who is also facing allegation in the cipher case.
“The petitioner’s primary concern was to prevent foreign interference in domestic political affairs,” it added.
The bail application described Khan as “one of the few honest and dignified statesmen” of the country, saying the sole objective of the case was “political victimisation and score-settling.”
The document also maintained the ex-PM had become a threat for the “well-established political forces” of Pakistan during to his growing popularity with the masses.
While the special court had extended Khan’s judicial remand until September 26 during its last hearing, the IHC accepted his petition which will be heard by Chief Justice Amir Farooq on Monday.