Cipher case: IHC extends stay order against Imran’s jail trial till Nov 20

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday extended its stay order until November 20 against the jail trial of PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the cipher case and adjourned further hearing.

A division bench comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz heard the appeals of PTI chairman against his jail trial.

At the outset of the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel Salman Akram Raja argued that the trial court continued the hearing until 3:30 pm on the said day despite the IHC’s stay order. However, special prosecutor Raja Rizwan Abbasi said the trial court stopped the proceeding when it was informed about the stay order.

Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan read out the judgment of the single-member bench and said it had stated that the jail trial should also be an open trial.

Justice Miangul Hassan remarked the open proceeding meant that it should be open for everyone. He asked whether the two notifications regarding the jail trial were in accordance with the law.

The AGP said that this intra-court appeal was not maintainable, adding that the single-member bench had clarified that the jail trial was an open proceeding. The notification of the jail trial of PTI chairman was issued because of security issues, he said, adding that the judge of the special court wrote to the law ministry in this regard.

The AGP said that Shah Mehmood Qureshi has given an application for a trial in the regular court, which was terminated by the court. He said that a co-accused couldn’t be tried separately in the regular court in the same case. The AGP said the judge has requested a jail trial for the first time on September 12. To this, the bench noted it was for one time. Why the judge wrote to the federal government after rejecting the application of prosecution, the bench asked.

The AGP said that the prosecution has given an application to stop the public entry to the court. Jail trial and keeping the public out were two different things, he said. The AGP said that lawyers had permission to go to the courtroom. Now a big room has been allocated in jail for the proceeding, he said. He said the jail trial was not an in-camera proceeding. Further hearing of the case was then adjourned until November 20.