Imran Khan’s plea against jail trial in cipher case rejected

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected an intra-court appeal filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan challenging his jail trial in the cipher case.

A two-member IHC division bench, consisting of Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat, presided over the hearing.

Imran Khan’s counsel, Salman Akram Raja, argued that the federal government did not have the authority to issue a notification for conducting Khan’s trial in prison.

He contended that it was within the jurisdiction of the Islamabad commissioner to issue jail trial notifications, characterizing it as an administrative matter.

Raja further explained that a single bench of the IHC had ruled that the federal government had the prerogative to appoint a judge of its choice.

He emphasized that the federal government should not have the authority to selectively appoint judges.

Responding to this argument, Justice Aurangzeb expressed concerns about the executive branch interfering in the judiciary’s domain.

The division bench stated that the IHC chief justice might establish a new bench to review the matter after addressing objections.

However, they noted that they couldn’t provide interim relief at the moment, as the decision on the admissibility of the petition would be made later.

Previously, an IHC single bench had ruled that there was no apparent malice behind conducting Imran Khan’s jail trial in the cipher case.

The court’s decision emphasized that the prison trial was in favor of Khan due to security concerns, as he had expressed fears about his safety.

The decision to conduct Khan’s trial in prison was made considering these security concerns, and he was arrested under the Official Secrets Act.

Imran Khan and PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi were indicted in the case, which involves charges of misusing diplomatic cables for political purposes. Both leaders were incarcerated in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.