Pak SC grants bail to Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi in cypher case

The Pakistan Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to former Prime Minister Imran Khan and ex-Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cypher case, Dawn reported.
The court directed the PTI leaders to submit surety bonds of Pakistan Rupee (PKR) 1 million each.
The three-member bench, headed by Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and including Justices Athar Minallah and Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, issued the order based on a set of PTI petitions.
The cypher case involves a diplomatic document that the Federal Investigation Agency alleges was never returned by Imran, with the PTI asserting the document contained a threat from the United States to remove Imran as prime
minister.
The Special Court (Official Secrets Act) restarted the cypher trial at Adiala district jail last week after Imran and Qureshi were indicted for the second time on December 13, as reported by Dawn.
The trial had faced setbacks when the Islamabad High Court scrapped proceedings due to an “erroneous” government notification for a jail trial. The IHC endorsed Imran’s indictment, disposing of his plea, but instructed the special court judge to ensure a “fair trial.”