IHC adjourns hearing on PTI chairman’s plea against jail trial till Nov 14

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday adjourned the hearing on PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s intra-court appeal challenging jail trial in the cipher case till November 14.

The hearing was being presided over by Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb and Justice Thaman Rifat Imtiaz.

Present in the courtroom were chairman PTI’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja and Attorney General Mansoor Awan.

During the proceedings, the court inquired whether the party had confidence in it, to which Advocate Chairman PTI Salman Akram Raja affirmed their trust in the court.

The lawyer explained that the Law Ministry had issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for transferring the case to Attock Jail.

Salman Akram Raja noted that the High Court had reserved its judgment on the petition against the jail trial back on September 12 and that a reserved judgment had been delivered on October 16.

During this time, the Law Ministry issued two more notifications, and Raja requested these notifications to be put on the court record.

Salman Akram Raja questioned why the trial of PTI chairman was being conducted in a small jail cell and argued that the prosecution must provide a solid reason for this.

He requested an open trial for the cipher case.

Responding to this, Justice Hasan Aurangzeb inquired if the Attorney General wanted to present arguments during the hearing.

AGP asked for more time to present arguments at the next hearing, to which the court agreed.

Justice Hasan Aurangzeb stressed the importance of expediting the decision in this case and requested that the AGP ensures the trial proceeds appropriately, underlining the need for a fair and timely resolution without issuing an injunction at this stage.