The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has charged former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi as being responsible for the illegal retention and the subsequent misplacement of the secret cipher containing the diplomatic cable received from the Pakistani embassy in Washington in March 2022.
The FIA on Saturday submitted the charge sheet before the special court reviewing the matter under the Official Secrets Act.
The charge sheet stated that Imran violated the Official Secrets Act by illegally retaining the Prime Minister House copy of the cipher and misusing the official document.
The agency has requested the court to take the case to trial, where the involvement of the two accused will be proved and subsequently sentenced.
It is pertinent to mention here that both Imran and Qureshi remain in jail on judicial remand in the cipher case.
Sources claimed that the former federal planning minister Asad Umar has not been included in the list of suspects.
On the other hand, the FIA has submitted a list of 28 witnesses, including Imran's former principal secretary Azam Khan has been listed as a state witness. His statements, recorded under Sections 161 and 164 have been attached with the charge sheet.
Pakistan's former ambassador to the US Asad Majeed Khan (who later became foreign secretary), and former foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood have also been included as witnesses.
Others included as witnesses are former additional secretary of foreign affairs Faisal Niaz Tirmizi, along with all the officials involved in taking the cipher from the Foreign Office to the PM House.