The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has temporarily halted proceedings against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the cipher case and sought rational of the decision to conduct the trial in jail.
The decision was announced by IHC division bench, consisting of Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz.
Imran Khan has filed an intra-court appeal against a previous decision approving his jail trial.
The cipher case is related to a diplomatic cabel that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) alleges was not returned by Imran, with the PTI claiming it contained a threat from the United States to remove him as prime minister.
Imran Khan and his aide Shah Mahmood Qureshi were indicted in the case on October 23, pleading not guilty to the charges.
While the IHC endorsed Imran’s indictment, it also instructed the special court judge to ensure a “fair trial.”
Imran Khan’s lawyer, Salman Akram Raja, and Attorney General Mansoor Awan were present in court.
Attorney General Awan informed the bench that the federal cabinet had approved Imran’s jail trial, promising to provide a copy of the relevant notification.
Justice Aurangzeb expressed the court’s intention to scrutinize the notification and questioned the “extraordinary circumstances” that led to the trial being conducted in its current manner, emphasizing the need to be informed about the actual events.
The court sought clarification on the reasons behind the federal cabinet’s approval of the jail trial and drew a parallel with the jail trial of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, highlighting the similarities in the cases involving ex-PMs.
After the arguments, the court requested a reply from the attorney general and adjourned the hearing.
In the cipher case, Special Court (Official Secrets Act) Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain presided over the hearing at Adiala district jail.
Imran’s legal team, as well as the FIA’s team, attended the hearing, during which statements of two witnesses, including a Foreign Office official, were recorded. The defense requested copies of all documents submitted as case records, leading to the hearing being adjourned until Friday.
Simultaneously, the law ministry issued a notification approving Imran’s trial for offenses under the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, at Adiala jail in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
This came after an Islamabad accountability court sought details from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) regarding a notification for a jail hearing in the Al-Qadir Trust case against Imran.
Imran Khan, already imprisoned in Adiala Jail in the cipher case, was additionally arrested by NAB in the Al-Qadir Trust case and the Toshakhana reference. Judge Mohammad Bashir presided over the hearing and inquired about Imran’s location and the existence of a notification for the jail trial. He ordered the prosecutor to provide information on these matters.
