ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday granted bail to former Prime Minister Imran Khan and one of his senior aides in the ‘cipher case’ in which he is charged with leaking state secrets.
Khan is serving a three-year sentence at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail in a separate ‘Toshakhana’ case in which he was convicted in August of not declaring assets earned from the sale of state gifts during his 2018-22 tenure as prime minister. He denies any wrongdoing and says the charges, as well as those related to the cipher case, are politically motivated and intended to keep him and his PTI party out of general elections in February.
In a message sent to reporters, the PTI announced that Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Khan’s foreign minister during his tenure as PM, had been granted bail by the top court.
“PTI has always maintained its position on the nature of this bogus trial,” the PTI said.
However, Khan’s bail in the cipher case does not mean he will be freed, as he is convicted in the Toshakhana case, and is remanded in police custody in the case of a £190 million settlement with a property tycoon called the Al-Qadir trust case. He also faces dozens of other cases, ranging from terrorism to attempted murder.
“The Supreme Court has granted bail to both Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case, but it is too early to say anything about their actual release from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi,” Qureshi’s lawyer Taimur Malik told Arab News.
“The National Accountability Bureau has already taken custody of Imran Khan in the Toshakhana and Al-Qadir Trust cases, so his bail has to be secured in these cases too for his release.”
Malik said Qureshi had secured bail in all cases registered against him, and there was now no “apparent” reason to keep him in jail.
“Shah Mahmood Qureshi will be released from jail if he is not arrested in any other case,” he added, referring to recent instances in which new cases were filed against PTI supporters and Khan aides after they got bail in another.
A copy of the Supreme Court’s order seen by Arab News states that the court found “no sufficient incriminating material” Khan disclosed the contents of the diplomatic cable to the public, either directly or indirectly, in the interest or for the benefit of a foreign power, nor did he disclose information relating to any of the defense installations or affairs.
The order said there wasn’t sufficient material evidence to indicate Khan had disclosed a secret official code to the public at large.
“The discretion exercised by the high court in denying bail to the petitioners is found to have been exercised perversely, that is, against the weight of the material available, on record of the case, which warrants interference by the court,” the order read.
The cipher saga relates to an alleged diplomatic correspondence between Washington and Islamabad that Khan says was proof that his ouster as PM in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in April 2022 was part of a US conspiracy to remove him. Washington has repeatedly denied Khan’s accusations.
Weeks before his ouster, Khan had waved a letter to a crowd during a public rally last year, claiming it was a cipher from a foreign nation calling for the end of his government. Khan later revealed that country to be the US and said the secret diplomatic letter spoke of dire consequences if he continued to get closer to Russia. The government at the time of PM Shehbaz Sharif said Khan’s actions amounted to leaking state secrets and using them for political gains.
A special court was formed on Aug 21 under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, to adjudicate the case. The hearings have been held in Adiala jail, without access granted to media and family members at most proceedings.
Pakistan Supreme Court grants bail to Imran Khan in state secrets case
https://arab.news/9qqd4
Pakistan Supreme Court grants bail to Imran Khan in state secrets case
- Not clear if Khan would be released as he has multiple arrest warrants issued against him in several other cases
- Khan is serving three-year jail sentence for corruption, faces slew of legal challenges since being ousted from PM office
Pakistan’s capital picks concrete over trees, angering residents
- Between 2001 and 2024, Islamabad lost 14 hectares of tree cover, according to Global Forest Watch
- Officials justify removing trees to tackle seasonal pollen allergies that are especially acute in spring
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s capital Islamabad was once known for its lush greenery, but the felling of trees across the city for infrastructure and military monuments has prompted local anger and even lawsuits.
Built in the 1960s, Islamabad was planned as a green city, with wide avenues, parks and tree-lined sectors.
Many residents fear that vision is steadily being eroded, with concrete replacing green spaces.
Muhammad Naveed took the authorities to court this year over “large-scale tree cutting” for infrastructure projects, accusing them of felling “many mature trees” and leaving land “barren.”
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) blamed major infrastructure development, including road construction and monuments, for the mass razing of trees and natural vegetation in Islamabad.
Between 2001 and 2024, the capital lost 14 hectares of tree cover, equal to 20 football pitches, according to Global Forest Watch, though the figure does not account for tree cover gains during the same period.
For Kamran Abbasi, a local trader and resident since the 1980s, it feels like “they are cutting trees everywhere.”
“It is not the same anymore,” he told AFP.
“Trees are life. Thousands are cut to build one bridge.”
SMOG AND POLLEN
Meanwhile, air quality in Islamabad continues to deteriorate.
Pollution is a longstanding problem, but plants can help by filtering dirty air, absorbing harmful gases and cooling cities.
“Forests act as powerful natural filters... cleaning the air and water, and reducing the overall impact of pollution,” Muhammad Ibrahim, director of WWF-Pakistan’s forest program told AFP.
There were no good air quality days in Islamabad last month, with all but two classed as “unhealthy” or “very unhealthy” by monitoring organization IQAir.
While some trees are felled for infrastructure, officials justify removing others to tackle seasonal pollen allergies that are especially acute in spring.
That problem is largely attributed to paper mulberry trees, which were planted extensively during the city’s early development.
“The main reason is pollen allergy,” said Abdul Razzaq, an official from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in Islamabad.
“People suffer from chest infections, asthma and severe allergic reactions. I do too,” he told AFP.
The government plans to remove 29,000 pollen-producing trees and plants, according to a recent WWF report.
However, critics argue that pollen allergies are an excuse to justify broader tree-cutting, particularly linked to military and infrastructure projects.
The solution lies not in indiscriminate tree removal, but careful urban planning, experts say, replanting with non-allergenic species — and greater transparency around development projects in the capital.
CAPITAL UNDER AXE
In recent months, large bulldozers have been spotted levelling former green belts and wooded areas, including near major highways.
According to WWF and unnamed government officials, some of the cleared land is tapped for monuments commemorating the brief but intense armed conflict between Pakistan and neighboring India last May.
Other plots were razed to make way for military-linked infrastructure.
“We know that trees are being cut for military-related projects, but there is not much we can do,” a government source told AFP, requesting anonymity for security reasons.
“The people in power, the military, can do whatever they want.”
Pakistan’s powerful military has ruled the country for decades through coups and is deeply involved in the country’s politics and economy, analysts say.
At a proposed military monument site along the city’s express highway, WWF recorded more than six hectares of land clearing last year, with work continuing in 2026.
It saw “no active plantation... indicating that the clearing is infrastructure driven.”
The military did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.
Naveed’s court case seeking to halt the widespread felling, which is still being heard, argues there is “no excuse” for the tree loss.
“If a monument is deemed essential, why was it not placed in any existing park or public place?” he argues.
In reply to Naveed’s petition, authorities said roads and infrastructure projects were approved under regulations dating back to 1992.
