Islamabad High Court | Business Upturn

Islamabad HC directs Imran Khan to approach special court against jail trial in Cypher Case

Vanshika Lodhi — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 12:30:38 +0000

The Islamabad High Court has ordered a special court to hold proceedings on the Cypher Case against Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi till Thursday. The case was filed against Imran Khan for allegedly violating the Official Secrets Act by disclosing a secret diplomatic cable (cipher) sent by the country’s embassy in Washington in March last year. The former prime minister has been at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi in the cipher case.

Earlier this month, the court declared that Khan and Qureshi would be indicted during the next hearing on October 17, which would mark the official start of the trial. Khan had challenged in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) the trial inside the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi where he was shifted on September 26 from the Attock jail in Punjab province. Disposing of his plea opposing the in-prison proceedings, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq directed Khan to approach the trial court if he has any security concerns about the jail trial .

The Islamabad High Court has directed former prime minister Imran Khan to approach the special court regarding any security concerns on his in-prison trial in the cipher case, even as it observed that there is no apparent malice in conducting the hearing in jail, considering the security concerns. The court observed that there was no apparent malice in holding the trial in prison and given security concerns, a trial in prison would be in favor of the former prime minister.

IHC rejects Imran Khan’s bail & dismissal pleas in cipher case

United News of India (UNI) — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 09:36:58 +0000

Islamabad, Oct 27 : The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday rejected former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s petition seeking post-arrest bail in the cipher case.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq announced the court order today which was reserved on October 16 after arguments were completed from both sides.

During the last hearing, Khan’s counsel, Sardar Latif Khosa, had contended that a FIR could not be registered against his client since the federal cabinet of the former prime minister declassified the cipher, according to local media reports.

He further stated that the ex-premier enjoyed immunity as provided in Article 248 of the Constitution that protects the president, governor, prime minister, federal minister, minister of state, chief minister and provincial minister for their “act done or purported to be done.”

During the hearing, another counsel for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman, Barrister Salman Safdar argued that Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act was not applicable in the cipher case.

He said that the section could be invoked for sharing sensitive information with foreigners, and this “main ingredient is missing” in the FIR against the PTI chief.

A special court formed under the Official Secrets Act has indicted both party leaders. They are currently incarcerated at the Adiala jail, Geo news reports.

On October 26, the IHC had also rejected Imran Khan’s pleas to stop trial in the matter.

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan granted bail by Islamabad High Court panel on Friday

News Desk — Fri, 12 May 2023 12:40:43 +0000

On Friday, a special panel of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) decided to release the former prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, on bail. This decision was reached after hearing arguments from all sides of the case.

A day after the Supreme Court ruled that Khan’s detention from the grounds of the IHC was unconstitutional and invalid, a bench consisting of Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz heard the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case. The bench was constituted of Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz.

Khan, who turned 70 the previous year, arrived at the court soon after 11:30 local time and through the biometric identification procedure as well as other requirements. The court was under heavy protection during his arrival.

The hearing was postponed for a total of two hours as a result of safety concerns.

When a lawyer began chanting pro-Khan chants, the two judges on the bench previously fled the room. After some time had passed, the angry judges made the announcement that the hearing would continue after Friday prayers.

An arrest order for Khan had been issued by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which resulted in his being taken into custody on Tuesday inside the grounds of the Islamic Humanitarian Centre (IHC).

His detention by the paramilitary Rangers provoked significant demonstrations throughout the whole of Pakistan, which resulted in the deployment of the army not only in this province but also in the provinces of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan.

His arrest was affirmed by the IHC; but, on Thursday, a bench of the Supreme Court consisting of three justices pronounced his imprisonment to be “illegal” and ordered his immediate release. The highest court in the land ordered the police to hand him over to the protection of the Supreme Court and to appear before the high court at eleven in the morning. The former Prime Minister has been released on bail for a period of two weeks.