Pakistan
Cypher case hearing adjourned till Nov 14 without proceeding
Due to the non-attendance of the defense lawyers, the statements of the prosecution witnesses could not be recorded.
Rawalpindi: The statements of the cypher case witnesses could not be recorded as the lawyers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi did not appear.
According to detaisl, cypher case was heard in Adiala Jail by Judge Abul Hasanat Zul Qarnain where former Prime Minister Imran Khan and Former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi appeared in the court room, however their lawyers could not appear because they were busy in other courts. The junior lawyers requested to adjourn today's hearing.
Zulfiqar Abbas Naqvi, Special Prosecutor of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the cypher case, while talking to the media, said that defense lawyers requested that they are in Lahore and cannot come due to smog. They will record the statements of six witnesses at the next hearing.
The special prosecutor stated that there are 28 witnesses in total, the idea is that 26 witnesses will testify.
Another special prosecutor of FIA, Shah Khawar, while talking to the media outside Adiala Jail, said: “Due to non-availability of lawyers, the hearing of the case has been postponed till November 14”.
Shah Khawar Advocate added that the statements of the witnesses were not recorded due to non-availability of the lawyers. Five family members of the accused have been allowed to meet in the hearing.
Before the hearing, FIA prosecutor Zulfiqar Naqvi, Shah Khawar, Rizwan Abbasi appeared in the court while Imran Khan’s lawyers Salman Safdar, Ali Gohar, Umair Niazi reached Adiala jail.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi's wife, daughter and lawyers including barrister Taimur Malik and Faiza Shah were also present in Adiala Jail during today's hearing.
The daughter of Shah Mehmood, Mehrbano Qureshi, talking to the media while going to Adiala Jail said: “We hope to get permission to join the hearing today, we had requested the High Court in this regard”.
Notably, the statements of three witnesses of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were recorded on the last hearing. The lawyers of the former prime minister and Shah Mehmood Qureshi completed the cross-examination of the official witnesses.