A Pakistan special court extends judicial remand of former PM Imran Khan for another 14 days in Cipher case

A Pakistan special court on Tuesday extended the judicial remand of former prime minister Imran Khan for another 14 days in the Cipher case, blighting the chances of his early release. Khan, also the chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was arrested last month after a case was filed against him for allegedly violating the Official Secrets Act by disclosing a secret diplomatic cable (cipher) sent by the country's embassy in Washington last year in March.

It is the third time that Khan, 70, has been sent to jail on remand. The previous 14-day remand ended today. The special court judge Abual Hasnat Zulqernain conducted hearings in the District Jail Attock, where Khan has



been detained since August 5 after his arrest following his conviction in the Toshakhana case. After the hearing, the court ordered to keep him in judicial custody until October 10 to complete the probe.

The court also extended the remand of former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi for the same period. Qureshi has also been accused under the same law. Though the Islamabad High Court on Monday ordered authorities to shift Khan to the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi the directive was not implemented.

Earlier, the authorities were allowed to conduct hearings of the case in the jail due to security concerns.