- The special court directed to ensure that PTI chief Imran gets a “fair trial”.
- IHC will give its verdict on Imran’s bail in the same case tomorrow.
- Former Prime Minister Imran is currently lodged in Adiala jail.
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday rejected the plea of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan seeking the proceedings against him in the Cipher case by a special court constituted under the Official Secrets Act. Had demanded to stop.
The special court earlier this week had convicted Imran and his deputy Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case, which involved misuse and misappropriation of diplomatic cables based on conversations between Pakistan’s envoy to Washington and a US diplomat during his tenure. A charge of violating secret law was involved. Government last year.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq heard the jailed ousted prime minister’s plea against stalling his trial and prosecution in the Cipher case.
The court dismissed his plea against indictment and ordered that Imran be provided a “fair trial”.
The decision on the bail application of PTI Chairman in the case under the Official Secrets Act will be pronounced tomorrow. After hearing the arguments on the bail application, the court has reserved its decision.
The hearing in the Sifar case will begin on Friday and both Imran and Qureshi have denied the allegations against them. The hearing will be held before a special court behind closed doors at Adiala jail, where Imran is being held.
The PTI chief is currently facing hundreds of cases, ranging from contempt of court to terrorism and inciting violence, and in early August he was sentenced to three years in prison for corruption.
But the IHC suspended the sentence. However, the legal victory was short-lived as he was arrested again in the cipher case later in August.
Imran’s lawyer asked for documents
Khan’s counsel Barrister Salman Safdar told the court during today’s hearing that the authorities had handed him the challan on October 17 and without giving him a week’s time, the court convicted the PTI chief on October 23.
,[Imran] It has been accused of changing the contents of the cipher. But till now, neither the revised nor the original copy of the cipher has been provided to us,” the lawyer argued.
He told the court that the cipher was not included in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) charge sheet against Imran.
“How can the trial proceed when I do not know on what grounds my client is being accused? The trial court should be ordered to provide us with the relevant documents,” he argued.
Safdar said, “There was secret arrest and secret remand in this case, we did not come to the court, but the way the charges were filed is not acceptable.”
