IHC dismisses Imran's plea to halt proceedings in cypher trial

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday dismissed a plea by former prime minister Imran Khan seeking a halt in the proceedings of the ongoing cypher trial. The court also issued a notice for December 20 to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb presided over the hearing. Sikandar Zulqarnain Saleem, the lawyer for Imran, argued that the trial court's December 4 order was challenged, prompting Justice Aurangzeb to question the absence of the notification for the jail trial. When the lawyer was unable to satisfy the court, the judge asked him why was he unaware as the jail trial was ongoing. The counsel then responded that it was the government's responsibility to fix the venue for the trial and not the judge's. Justice Aurangzeb asserted that the judge has discretion and can choose a prison's premises for trial, however, he emphasised that the trial should be conducted in an open court. Imran's counsel prayed to the court to hold off proceedings of the cypher case till the next hearing, to which the judge replied that it would be considered once the report was received. Read Aitzaz slams 'persecution' of Imran in cypher case After Imran and Shah Mehmood Qureshi were re-indicted in the cypher case on December 13. PTI’s lawyer informed the media that they will be challenging the indictment process in the court as the hearing "lacked transparency" and was carried out “impulsively”. The court ruled that both Imran, in his capacity as prime minister, and Qureshi, as foreign minister, breached the Official Secrets Act. The charge sheet stated that both accused publicly flaunted a classified document during a rally on March 27, 2022, exploiting it for personal gain in a deliberate manner, highlighting that the unlawful actions harmed the nation's reputation, security, and diplomatic affairs. The counsels further contended that it was because of the same "hasty" decisions that the case's proceedings were declared unconstitutional before by the IHC. "No procedure related to indictment was carried out in court today," Imran's lawyer Salman Safdar reiterated. Furthermore, senior lawyers Sardar Latif Khosa, Aitzaz Ahsan and Salman Akram Raja also separately addressed the media, and denounced not being allowed to attend the jail trial. Khosa maintained that the media personnel should be allowed inside the courtroom, alleging that journalists are locked in a glass room 50 feet away during the hearing. At this, Raja interjected to add that every person had the right to hear the case.

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