Court grants pre-arrest bail to Asad Umar in Cipher Case

ISLAMABAD: In a development related to the cipher case, a special court established under the Official Secrets Act has approved pre-arrest bail for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Umar, with a Rs50,000 surety bond.

Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain presided over the hearing on Thursday, where it was noted by the judge that, according to the prosecution’s assertions, there is currently insufficient evidence against Asad Umar.

Asad Umar expressed his willingness to cooperate with any investigation, but the prosecution did not initiate an inquiry. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has stated that Asad Umar’s arrest is not warranted at this time.

Judge Abul Hasnat ordered the FIA to follow legal procedures, and in the event that an arrest becomes necessary, the FIA must inform Asad Umar beforehand.

Special court reserves verdict on PTI chairman’s bail plea

Advocate Babar Awan, representing Asad Umar, urged the court to confirm his client’s bail if the FIA lacked evidence against him.

Assistant Special Prosecutors attempted to delay proceedings, requesting a noon hearing start. However, Judge Abul Hasnat declined this request, asserting that the court would not accommodate such preferences.

Asad Umar addressed the court, informing them that he had been summoned twice by the FIA, once in December last year and recently. He revealed that he had undergone questioning for one and two hours on these occasions. Following the inquiries, the FIA cleared him of any involvement in the cipher case, Asad Umar asserted, characterizing the charges against him as political victimization.

The judge rejected the prosecution’s plea for an adjournment and stated his intention to rule on the bail applications of Asad Umar, PTI Chairman, and Shah Mehmood Qureshi later in the day.