ISLAMABAD: A special court on Friday rejected the post-arrest bail petition of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi in cypher case.
The Special Court has been established to hear cases registered under the Official Secrets Act.
Special Court Judge Abul Hasanat Zulqarnain announced the verdict reserved earlier.
According to the verdict, the court dismissed the bail plea of Shah Mehmood Qureshi primarily to his absence during the proceedings.
The court also rejected another plea Qureshi had filed through his counsel Ali Bukhari, seeking exemption from in person appearance in the court.
Bukhari had filed applications on behalf of Qureshi seeking exemption from attending court proceedings and requesting the summoning of Shah Mehmood Qureshi for the case.
The arrest
On August 19, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested Mr Qureshi from his residence in Islamabad on Saturday and booked him under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, in a case pertaining to a diplomatic cypher.
According to the FIR, the case was registered against PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Qureshi on August 15 over the alleged misplacement of a diplomatic cable from the US under sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act 1923 read with Section 34 of the PPC.
