Defense secrets, a Russian link and a courtroom battle

A special court in Pakistan has convicted a former defense production official and three others in an espionage case involving classified military documents, after nearly five years of investigation and trial proceedings.

But lawyers for the main accused say the entire case was built on what they call a fabricated narrative constructed by investigators.

Safdar Rehman, a former employee of the Directorate General Defense Purchase under the Ministry of Defense Production, was arrested by Federal Investigation Agency officials in Islamabad in May 2021.

Prosecutors said he had just stepped out of a diplomatic vehicle linked to the Russian embassy after allegedly passing on classified defense documents.

His lawyer disputes that version.

“The whole case is a made up and concocted story,” Zulfiqar Ali Naqvi, counsel for Rehman and his two sons Tafzeel ur Rehman and Muhammad Waqar, told Nukta.

Naqvi said investigators built their case around a diplomatic vehicle registration number rather than concrete evidence of contact with a foreign official.

According to him, Rehman had already been taken into custody three days before the First Information Report was formally registered on May 18, 2021.

The family also filed a complaint through the Prime Minister’s Citizen Portal alleging illegal detention before the FIR was registered, Naqvi said.

He questioned the prosecution’s claim that Rehman had met a Russian diplomat.

“They say he met a Russian diplomat. But who saw him?” Naqvi said, arguing that investigators provided no description or identification of the alleged contact.

He said the only link to a diplomat was a diplomatic vehicle number later verified through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Naqvi also pointed out that the Russian embassy never issued any public statement regarding the case.

“If FIA officials were waiting there and believed a diplomat was involved, why didn’t they arrest him?” he said. “Instead they created a story around a number plate.”

Prosecution cites digital trail

Prosecutors said the case was supported by extensive digital evidence recovered during the investigation.

According to the FIA’s Counter Terrorism Wing, the probe began after intelligence suggested that Rehman had been collecting sensitive material from defense procurement offices and passing it to foreign contacts.

Investigators said Rehman was detained near TNT Park in Islamabad on the evening of May 18, 2021.

A search conducted at the time led to the recovery of mobile phones and $4,000 in cash, according to court records.

Subsequent raids at the homes of the accused resulted in the seizure of laptops, desktop computers, mobile phones, USB drives and external hard disks.

Forensic analysis of those devices became the backbone of the prosecution’s case.

Investigators told the court that digital examination uncovered hundreds of classified files stored across multiple devices.

One external hard disk alone contained 212 secret and confidential documents related to defense procurement and military planning, according to prosecution records presented before the Special Court under the Official Secrets Act.

In total, prosecutors said classified material was recovered from at least 15 digital devices linked to the accused.

The files included documents related to military procurement contracts, defense planning and ammunition and weapons purchases handled through the Ministry of Defense Production.

Officials from relevant ministries later appeared in court and confirmed that the recovered material contained classified information protected under the Official Secrets Act.

Forensic investigators also identified electronic communications that prosecutors said showed documents had been shared outside official channels.

According to the digital forensic report presented during the trial, at least 19 classified files were transmitted through email accounts recovered from the seized devices.

Prosecutors argued that the recovered files and electronic communications demonstrated that sensitive information had been copied and distributed electronically.

The investigation named several accused individuals, many of whom had worked in clerical or technical roles connected to defense procurement offices.

According to investigators, these individuals helped retrieve or reproduce documents for Rehman.

The charges included Sections 3 and 4 of the Official Secrets Act 1923, Section 409 of the Pakistan Penal Code relating to criminal breach of trust by a public servant, and other provisions related to conspiracy and abetment.

Investigators told the court that photocopy operators and clerical staff allegedly facilitated the copying of sensitive documents for small payments.

Some accused acquitted

Some of those initially named in the investigation were later acquitted during the trial.

Retired Colonel Irfan Hameed Kiyani and his son Ahmad Kiyani filed an application under Section 265-K of the Criminal Procedure Code, arguing that prosecutors had failed to present evidence linking them to the alleged espionage activity.

After reviewing the record, the court ruled that there was no material connecting them to the possession or transmission of classified documents and acquitted both before the trial concluded.

Another accused, Muhammad Ashraf, was also acquitted after the court found no incriminating material had been recovered from him and there was no proof of financial benefit or participation in the alleged network.

Special prosecutor Jawad Hussain Adil rejected the defense claim that Rehman had been detained before the FIR was registered.

Adil told Nukta that suspects in national security investigations are often placed under surveillance before arrests are made.

“When suspects believe they might be arrested, they sometimes file complaints in advance to create a legal defense,” he said.

Adil said the most significant evidence in the case came from electronic devices recovered from the accused.

“The phones, laptops, email accounts and storage devices were theirs,” he said. “They never denied ownership during the trial.”

According to the prosecutor, the digital evidence linked the accused to the possession and electronic transfer of classified defense documents.

Adil also addressed the Russian diplomat mentioned during the investigation.

He confirmed that the diplomat identified during the probe was Kirill Kranshikob, who served as a second secretary at the Russian embassy in Islamabad.

But diplomats cannot be arrested or prosecuted because they are protected by diplomatic immunity under international law, he said.

By the time investigators pursued the lead, the diplomat had already left Pakistan, Adil added.

Court verdict and appeals

After nearly five years of investigation and court proceedings, the Special Court for Official Secrets delivered its verdict on Feb. 28, 2026.

The court ruled that Rehman had been in possession of classified documents and had transmitted sensitive information in violation of the Official Secrets Act.

He was convicted under Sections 3 and 4 of the Act and sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.

His sons Tafzeel ur Rehman and Muhammad Waqar, along with co-accused Muhammad Tahir, were each sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment.

However, the court acquitted them of charges under Section 409 of the Pakistan Penal Code after concluding that prosecutors had failed to establish the legal requirement of entrustment required to prove criminal breach of trust.

The verdict also comes against the backdrop of another espionage case involving alleged Russian links that has taken a different turn in the appellate courts.

In a separate case heard by the same Special Court under the Official Secrets Act, an employee of Islamabad Police had previously been convicted on similar charges.

However, when the case reached the Islamabad High Court, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani suspended the sentence during the first hearing of the appeal, allowing the convict to be released while the case is heard on its merits.

When asked about that development, prosecutor Adil told Nukta that the government is preparing to challenge the decision before the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

“We have ample evidence in that case as well which shows the accused was involved in espionage activities,” he said.

Lawyers for Rehman say they also plan to challenge the verdict.

“We will challenge the conviction in the appellate court,” Naqvi said.

“The real test of this case will come there.”