Trial of Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan in the cipher case will continue in the prison as the Islamabad High Court (IHC) division bench has dismissed his appeal contesting the decision to conduct his trial in jail in the cipher case.
The bench was consisted of Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat.
PTI chief’s counsel, Salman Akram Raja, argued that the federal government lacked the authority to issue a notification for holding Khan’s trial in prison, asserting it was the Islamabad commissioner’s jurisdiction.
Counsel Raja emphasized that a single bench of the IHC had acknowledged the federal government’s prerogative to appoint a judge.
The division bench concluded that the matter might be reconsidered if presented with a new bench after addressing objections.
“Right now we cannot give you any interim relief,” indicating that the admissibility of the petition would be determined later.
Earlier this month, an IHC single bench had found no apparent malice in conducting Khan’s jail trial in the cipher case.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq had directed Khan to approach the trial court if concerns persisted. The decision followed days of hearings on Khan’s plea to hold his trial in an open court. Khan, whose government was ousted after a no-confidence motion in April the previous year, expressed his preference for a public trial.
The court, considering security concerns, opted for closed-door proceedings, pointing out that Khan himself had repeatedly expressed fears about his safety.
The decision to conduct the PTI chief’s trial in prison was made following his arrest in August under the Official Secrets Act. Khan, along with PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, was indicted in the case, which involves charges of misusing diplomatic cables for vested and political purposes. Both leaders are currently detained in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi.
