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Pakistan Arrests Opposition Leader for Exposing Official Secrets, Harming National Interest

Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi (archive)
Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi (archive)
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Pakistan Arrests Opposition Leader for Exposing Official Secrets, Harming National Interest

Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi (archive)
Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi (archive)

Pakistan’s top investigation agency has arrested an opposition leader, who is a close aide of convicted former Prime Minister Imran Khan, for exposing official secrets and harming state interests, according to case documents revealed Sunday.
It’s the latest development in a standoff between the administration of outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his predecessor Khan, who was jailed earlier this month on graft charges, The Associated Press said.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi was arrested Saturday night at his Islamabad home by the Federal Investigation Agency on charges of exposing a letter last year to claim that Khan was ousted from power by the US.
The letter has not been made public but was apparently diplomatic correspondence between a Pakistani ambassador to Washington and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad.
Cricketing hero Khan was booted out of parliament in April 2022 in a no-confidence vote. He insists his removal was engineered by Washington, Sharif's government and the military. All three deny the allegation.
Case documents about Qureshi’s arrest said he, Khan and others are involved in the communication of information in a secret classified letter to unauthorized people by “twisting the facts to achieve their ulterior motives and personal gains.”
The documents allege they conspired to misuse the contents of the letter to accomplish their “nefarious designs.”
Nobody from the Federal Investigation Agency was immediately available for comment.
Qureshi was arrested hours after he held a press conference Saturday evening demanding a level playing field for Khan's party, alleging that thousands of supporters are behind bars. He said the party will challenge any possible delay to elections, due to be held later this year.
Khan, who is serving a three-year term in a high security prison in eastern Punjab province, has also been arrested in the case, known locally as Cypher. Qureshi is standing in for Khan as leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI.
Sharif accused Khan of exposing an official secret document in an incident last year when he waved a confidential diplomatic letter at a rally.
Khan has more than 150 legal cases against him, including several on charges of corruption, “terrorism” and inciting people to violence over protests in May that saw his followers attack government and military property across the country.
Authorities have moved to rein in the outspoken politician’s supporters and allies since May, detaining thousands of Khan’s followers for their alleged involvement in the turmoil.

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FBI Finds 150 Homemade Bombs at Virginia Home in One of Largest Such Seizures

The seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is seen on the Headquarters in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP)
The seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is seen on the Headquarters in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP)
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FBI Finds 150 Homemade Bombs at Virginia Home in One of Largest Such Seizures

The seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is seen on the Headquarters in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP)
The seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is seen on the Headquarters in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP)

Federal agents found one of the largest stockpiles of homemade explosives they have ever seized when they arrested a Virginia man on a firearms charge last month, according to a court filing by federal prosecutors.

Investigators seized more than 150 pipe bombs and other homemade devices when they searched the home of Brad Spafford northwest of Norfolk in December, the prosecutors said in a motion filed Monday. The prosecutors wrote that this is believed to be "the largest seizure by number of finished explosive devices in FBI history."

Most of the bombs were found in a detached garage at the home in Isle of Wight County, along with tools and bomb-making materials including fuses and pieces of plastic pipe, according to court documents. The prosecutors also wrote: "Several additional apparent pipe bombs were found in a backpack in the home’s bedroom, completely unsecured," in the home he shares with his wife and two young children.

Spafford, 36, was charged with possession of a firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act. Law enforcement officers allege he owned an unregistered short barrel rifle. Prosecutors said that he faces "numerous additional potential charges" related to the explosives.

Defense attorneys argued in a motion Tuesday that authorities haven't produced evidence that he was planning violence, also noting that he has no criminal record. Further, they question whether the explosive devices were usable because "professionally trained explosive technicians had to rig the devices to explode them."

"There is not a shred of evidence in the record that Mr. Spafford ever threatened anyone and the contention that someone might be in danger because of their political views and comments is nonsensical," the defense lawyers wrote.

Messages were left Wednesday seeking further comment from the defense lawyers who signed the motion, Lawrence Woodward and Jerry Swartz.

The investigation began in 2023 when an informant told authorities that Spafford was stockpiling weapons and ammunition, according to court documents. The informant, a friend, told authorities Spafford had disfigured his hand in 2021 while working on homemade explosives. Prosecutors said he only has two fingers on his right hand.

The informant told authorities that Spafford was using pictures of the president, an apparent reference to President Joe Biden, for target practice and that "he believed political assassinations should be brought back," prosecutors wrote.

Numerous law enforcement officers and bomb technicians searched the property on Dec. 17. The agents located the rifle and the explosive devices, some of which had been hand-labeled as "lethal" and some of which were loaded into a wearable vest, court documents state. Technicians detonated most of the devices on site because they were deemed unsafe to transport, though several were kept for analysis.

At a hearing Tuesday, federal Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leonard determined that Spafford could be released into house arrest at his mother's home but agreed to keep him detained while the government files further arguments.

In response, prosecutors reiterated why they believe Spafford is dangerous, writing that "while he is not known to have engaged in any apparent violence, he has certainly expressed interest in the same, through his manufacture of pope bombs marked ‘lethal,’ his possession of riot gear and a vest loaded with pipe bombs, his support for political assassinations and use of the pictures of the President for target practice."