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
Death toll from IED blast in Pakistan’s southwest rises to four
- Pakistan has been battling a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for decades
- The attack comes days after four paramilitary troops were killed in the province
QUETTA: At least four people have been killed and 12 others wounded in a bomb blast in Pakistan’s turbulent southwestern province of Balochistan, a security official said Monday.
An improvised explosive device (IED) was planted in a parked car in Killa Abdullah district of Balochistan, less than 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the provincial capital of Quetta.
“It seems the IED exploded before reaching its intended destination,” a local security official, Ghulab Khan, told AFP.
“All those killed are civilian passersby,” he added.
Riaz Khan Dawar, a senior local government official, confirmed the details to AFP, adding the explosion took place close to a paramilitary compound on Sunday evening.
Pakistan has been battling a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for decades, where militants target state forces, foreign nationals, and non-locals in the mineral-rich southwestern province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
The attack came days after four paramilitary troops were killed in the province.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) is the most active group in the region and often carries out deadly attacks against security forces, but the local chapter of Daesh and the Pakistani Taliban have also claimed recent attacks.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in violence in its regions bordering Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021, with Islamabad accusing its western neighbor of allowing its soil to be used for attacks against Pakistan — a claim the Taliban deny.
In Balochistan, separatist violence has intensified, including a March attack by ethnic Baloch militants on a train carrying 450 passengers, which sparked a two-day siege and left dozens dead.
More than 241 people, mostly security officials, have been killed in attacks since the start of the year by armed groups fighting the government in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, according to an AFP tally.
‘Brothers forever’: Pakistani military acknowledges Saudi role in truce with India
- Pakistan and India this month traded missile, drone and artillery strikes over an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir
- The conflict alarmed world leaders and friendly nations, with a Saudi minister traveling to New Delhi and Islamabad
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military spokesman, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, has acknowledged Saudi Arabia’s role in helping secure a ceasefire with India, after the nuclear-armed neighbors exchanged heavy cross-border fire this month.
India on May 7 launched a series of strikes across the Line of Control — the de facto border that separates the Indian-controlled and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir. It also hit other sites on the Pakistani mainland, targeting what it claimed were militant positions.
Pakistan retaliated with strikes on Indian military targets before the ceasefire took effect on May 10, following efforts by world powers and friendly nations, including Saudi Arabia, to quickly de-escalate the conflict.
The Kingdom’s role in mediation was “very positive and wonderful,” Lt. Gen. Chaudhry told Arab News.
Pakistan and India have fought multiple wars since their independence from British rule in 1947. Two of the wars were over the disputed region of Kashmir, which both claim in full but rule in part.
The recent escalation came days after New Delhi blamed Pakistan for a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir — Islamabad denied any involvement.
As the neighbors exchanged fire, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir visited both New Delhi and Islamabad. The May 10 truce was reached shortly afterward.
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan share close diplomatic and strategic relations, and the Kingdom has provided significant support to Pakistan during its prolonged economic challenges in recent years.
“The bond between the people of Pakistan and the people of Saudi Arabia is very strong, and we in the armed forces have a very close bond with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. And this is a relationship that is based on respect,” Lt. Gen. Chaudhry said.
“Saudis are our brothers, brothers forever.”
Six killed, one injured as family feud turns violent in Pakistan’s northwest — official
- The deceased persons included three men and three women
- Injured woman shifted to Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital
PESHAWAR: At least six persons were killed and a woman sustained gunshot wounds in a violent altercation between two families in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, rescue officials said on Monday.
The incident took place near the Khatko Bridge area reportedly over domestic issues, according to District Emergency Officer Ghayoor Mushtaq Khan.
The deceased included three men and three women.
“As a result of the gunfire, one woman was critically injured, while six others died on the spot,” Khan said in a statement.
It added the Rescue 1122 service responded to the emergency, provided first aid to the injured woman and transferred her to Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital.
Family feuds are common in Pakistan and that often violent and last for long in parts of the country where tribal customs and laws are followed by residents.
In June last year, 10 members of a family, including a two-year-old, were killed in a late-night attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police said.
Pakistani police search for suspect in killing of Ahmadi minority doctor
- Official says the motive behind the killing remains unclear and a probe is ongoing
- There are about 500,000 Ahmadis in Pakistan, a nation of more than 240 million
LAHORE: Pakistani police stepped up their search Monday for the suspect in the killing of a doctor from the country’s Ahmadi minority, the latest in a string of deadly attacks targeting the community.
The physician was gunned down at a private hospital where he worked in the eastern city of Sargodha on Friday. The gunman fled the scene.
The Ahmadi faith was established in the Indian subcontinent in the 19th century by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Pakistan’s Parliament declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974, with their homes and places of worship attacked over the decades by hard-liners who consider them heretics.
There are about 500,000 Ahmadis in Pakistan, a nation of more than 240 million.
No one claimed responsibility for Friday’s killing but supporters of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan party have carried out many of the attacks on Ahmadis, accusing them of blasphemy.
Sargodha police official, Sikandar Ali, said the motive behind the killing of Dr. Sheikh Mahmood remains unclear. An investigation is ongoing, he said.
Mahmood’s killing was the third attack on Ahmadis in Pakistan since April, said Amir Mahmood, a spokesman for the Ahmadi community.
He urged the government to protect Ahmadis, whose places of worship and even graveyards are also often desecrated by extremist groups.
‘What if this were me?’: Pakistani-Dutch filmmaker amplifies Afghan voices challenging refugee stereotypes
- Anya Raza’s ‘On the Mountain’ captures the dilemma of an Afghan woman teacher, who is caught between love, family and unforgiving realities of the conflict
- The filmmaker urges Pakistan to reconsider its decision to expel Afghan refugees, saying ‘it is very important that they have their basic human rights and dignity’
ISLAMABAD: Anya Raza was in Washington and watched with the whole world in disbelief as the Afghan capital of Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021, marking an end to two decades of United States-led intervention.
The chaos that unfolded moved the Pakistani-Dutch writer and filmmaker to reach out to the Afghans, who desperately sought to relocate to safety, as well as humanitarian and other workers involved in the process.
Their tales of love, loss, devastation and despair compelled Raza to document these heart-wrenching stories to humanize the Afghan refugee crisis for the world, which largely seemed to be indifferent to the chaos.
Her film, ‘On the Mountain,’ based on true stories Raza encountered during the interviews, challenges stereotypes and offers a deeply human perspective on the plight of Afghan refugees, according to the filmmaker.
“I interviewed a lot of refugees, people working with refugees, humanitarian workers, case workers, resettlement officers, and others involved. Time and again, I was struck by the sheer devastation, loss, and the immense decisions people had to make just to keep uprooting their families, to keep them safe,” Raza told Arab News, on the sidelines of the Women International Film Festival in Islamabad last week.
“After 20 years of war, the voices of Afghan people weren’t reaching the international stage, despite all the sacrifices they made, despite the destruction. It felt like a way for me to lend my voice as an artist, to break some of the silos.”
The 13-minute film captures the dilemma of an Afghan woman teacher who is caught between love, family and the unforgiving realities of the conflict, forced to make heartbreaking choices.
Set against the backdrop of a turbulent Kabul in 2021, Raza says the film is both a “social and political statement” that challenges stereotypes and biases relating to refugees and offers audiences a chance to reflect on the human characters behind headlines.
“There are a lot of prejudices, biases, and stereotypes when it comes to refugees — their role in communities, how they are perceived,” she said.
“This film is an invitation into an Afghan home, into the love and tough decisions that a family must make. It lets viewers ask, ‘What if this were me?’“
But for Raza, whose work has sparked discussions around identity, nationality and human rights, bringing the film to life was not without challenges.
“For artists, it’s always difficult to secure funding for projects. You might find money, but it’s harder to find people who align with your values,” she said.
The film continues to connect with audiences around the world and evokes powerful emotions and reflections from the attendees at the Islamabad festival.
But despite the effort, the reality has drastically changed for many Afghan refugees since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan and thousands of them fled to Pakistan to seek refuge there, according to the filmmaker.
Today, those same refugees face forced repatriation and are being driven back to the uncertainty they once escaped.
“It breaks my heart to see Afghans who have lived here their whole lives, who felt that Pakistan was their home, [are] now being forced to leave without any of their belongings,” Raza said.
Pakistan has repatriated approximately 1.3 million Afghan refugees in a deportation drive launched since Nov. 2023, according to officials. The drive was launched after Islamabad witnessed a surge in suicide attacks and militancy that it blamed on Afghan nationals, without providing evidence.
The government in Islamabad initially said it was focusing on expelling foreigners with no legal documentation and other categories, such as Afghan Citizen Card (ACC)-- a document launched in 2017 to grant temporary legal status to Afghan refugees— would be included later. This year, Pakistan’s interior ministry asked all ACC holders to leave the country by March and started deporting them from April 1.
In total, Pakistan has hosted over 2.8 million Afghan refugees who crossed the border during 40 years of conflict in their homeland.
Raza urged Islamabad to reconsider its decision to expel Afghan refugees: “It’s very important that they have their basic human rights, their dignity, that they’re safe.”
