A Pakistan high court, on Tuesday, issued a stay order against the jail trial of former prime minister Imran Khan in the cipher case. The court sought information about the circumstances that led to the trial being conducted in a high-security Rawalpindi prison.
Details of the ongoing proceedings
Imran Khan, the 71-year-old chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), is currently held in Adiala jail on judicial remand. Alongside him, his close aide and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, 67, also arrested in the cipher case, is imprisoned in the same facility. Both Khan and Qureshi have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Islamabad High Court’s Pronouncement and Appeal
A two-member bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz, pronounced the judgment during the hearing of Khan’s intra-court appeal against his trial in Adiala jail. The appeal was filed against a single-member bench that upheld the trial of Khan in Adiala Jail. The court expressed its intention to scrutinize the notification and understand the extraordinary circumstances that prompted the trial.
Court’s refusal to grant plea
Justice Aurangzeb questioned the “extraordinary circumstances” and sought clarification on the federal cabinet’s approval of the jail trial. The court refused to grant a plea by Attorney General Mansoor Awan, fixing the next hearing for Thursday and ordering a halt to the proceedings.
Caretaker Government Approval and Security Concerns
The development follows the caretaker government’s approval of the jail trial based on an alleged violation of the Official Secrets Act. The case revolves around a secret diplomatic cable by the Pakistan embassy in Washington in March 2022. The interim Cabinet approved the summary for the jail trial in Adiala jail due to security concerns.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq had observed no apparent malice behind the jail trial, directing Khan to approach the trial court if his reservations persist. Khan filed an intra-court appeal against this decision, leading to the current stay order.
As the IHC issued orders to stay the hearing, Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain presided over the trial in the jail. Limited family members attended the hearing, and both Khan and Qureshi were present during the trial.
Accountability Court Inquiry on the Al-Qadir Trust Case
In a separate development, an Islamabad-based accountability court sought details from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) regarding a jail hearing for the Al-Qadir Trust case against Khan.
Khan was formally arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust and Toshakhana cases, prompting the court to inquire about the notification for the jail trial. The NAB official responded that he would check the status of the notification and inform the court.
Cipher case background
The cipher case involves a secret diplomatic cable containing an account of a meeting between US State Department officials and Pakistani envoy Asad Majeed Khan. Imran Khan, accused of misusing the contents to build a narrative of a US-led conspiracy, was ousted through a vote of no-confidence in April 2022. Since then, more than 150 cases have been registered against Khan.
(With PTI Inputs)