Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has challenged the special court's October 23 indictment order in the cipher case in the Islamabad High Court. In his plea, Khan argues that the trial court overlooked constitutional requirements and indicted him prematurely. He claims that a hasty trial could affect fundamental constitutional rights and due process of law. Khan urges the IHC to declare the Official Secrets Act Court's order null and void. The cipher case relates to a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan's ambassador in Washington, which Khan is accused of making public. Both Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the former foreign minister, have pleaded not guilty and refused to accept the charge sheet. Witnesses will be summoned for the next hearing on October 27. The FIR was registered under the Official Secrets Act, with Khan and Qureshi named in the report along with Azam Khan and Asad Umar. The FIR alleges that Khan and Qureshi distorted the facts of the diplomatic cipher and jeopardized state interests.
