The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued a stay on the in-camera trial of former chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan in the cipher case.
The stay granted until January 11 next year in response to Imran Khan’s appeals challenging his indictment, proceedings, and a gag order in the cipher case.
Justice Miangul Hassan of the IHC granted the stay in cipher case being heard by a special court.
During the hearing, Justice Aurangzeb initially rejected Imran Khan’s plea for a stay on the trial, stating that the court would serve notices before making an order.
The IHC subsequently issued notices to the federation and instructed Khan’s lawyer, Usman Gul, to submit all necessary documents related to the cipher trial at the next hearing.
The PTI counsel argued in court about alleged irregularities in the cipher case, pointing out that an FIR was lodged before the filing of a complaint.
The judge questioned the purpose of the petition, and the lawyer emphasized that the legal procedure was not completed before the indictment.
The lawyer further requested the IHC to direct the trial court to conduct the case hearing after five or six days, allowing the court to complete the trial in the meantime.
The judge inquired about the progress of witness statements in the cipher trial, to which the PTI counsel stated that statements of 25 witnesses had been recorded, with the cross-examination of three completed out of a total of 27 witnesses.
The trial is being conducted on a daily basis, according to the PTI counsel.
Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan informed the court that statements of 25 witnesses had been recorded in the cipher trial.
PTI lawyer Salman Akram Raja mentioned that statements of many witnesses were recorded after the court’s judgment.
Judge Aurangzeb expressed concerns about the in-camera trial, stating that it should have been an open trial on every hearing of the case.
The court acknowledged that the trial was being conducted in haste and raised questions about the importance of open hearings in such cases.
The IHC judge emphasized the need to ensure the right to a fair trial under Article 10-A.
The AGP clarified that media coverage was allowed during the trial proceedings, and the judge inquired whether cross-examination was carried out in the presence of the media.
The AGP mentioned that the statements of three witnesses were related to the secret code of the diplomatic cable, and the foreign secretary’s statement would also be recorded in-camera.
The IHC judge observed that the cipher trial was the first of its kind and expressed concerns about whether the right to a fair trial under Article 10-A is granted in such cases.
The judge questioned what facts were presented before the Supreme Court when bail was granted, and the AGP responded that there were statements from 13 witnesses before the SC, which was looking into the bail matter.
On December 22, 2023, both Imran Khan and PTI’s Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi were granted post-arrest bail in the cipher case by the Supreme Court.
Earlier on December 13, the PTI founder and vice-chairman were indicted again in the cipher case by the special court after the IHC declared their jail trial null and void.
Both politicians have pleaded not guilty to their alleged involvement in the misuse of diplomatic cables for political purposes.
