National Herald Tribune

No one knows cipher text, but enemy allegedly gained advantage: IHC justice

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ISLAMABAD, (NNI): 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.

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