The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday granted a stay on the in-camera proceedings of the cipher case until Jan. 11, its next hearing, after examining responses of the federation and the FIA.
Former prime minister Imran Khan, who is currently incarcerated at Adiala Jail, had last week approached the IHC against his indictment in the cipher case, as well as its ongoing proceedings by a Special Court formed under the Official Secrets Act. Taking up the case, Justice Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb issued notice to the federation and asked Khan’s lawyer, Usman Gul, to submit all necessary documents related to the trial at the next hearing on Jan. 11.
During proceedings, Gul argued that a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged in the cipher case before the filing of a complaint. To the judge asking what the point of the present petition was, the counsel said proper legal procedure was not completed before the indictment. While acknowledging that a legally authorized official could file a complaint directly in court, he said the FIR had come first in the cipher case.
The court issued a notice to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the courtroom regarding the FIR and complaint. Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan also appeared in court and informed the judge that the statements of 25 witnesses were already recorded.
“I can’t ignore the court’s previous proceedings regarding the cipher case,” observed Justice Aurangzeb. “I am concerned about the way the cipher trial is being conducted,” he added, but acknowledged the trial court judge was conducting hearings in accordance with IHC orders.
On the in-camera trial, the IHC judge observed a special court judge should have ordered an open trial in the case. To this, the AGP said media was free to cover the proceedings, adding that statements of three witnesses related to coding and decoding of classified cables were held in-camera. He said the foreign secretary’s statement would also be recorded in-camera.
“The case is being heard daily. So far, statements of 25 witnesses have been recorded and three were cross-examined,” said lawyer Gul, adding there were 28 witnesses total. He urged the court to direct the special court to not conduct the trial for the next five or six days. “The special court can complete the trial during this time,” he warned, adding proceedings were occurring daily. However, Justice Aurangzeb maintained the court would first issue notices, and adjourned the hearing pending the responses.
After receiving the required responses, Justice Aurangzeb issued a stay order until the next hearing, Jan. 11, on proceedings in the cipher case.
The Special Court started fresh proceedings in the cipher case earlier this month after indicting Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi for a second time after the IHC declared previous proceedings null and void.
The cipher case pertains to the copy of a classified document the FIA alleges was retained by Khan and never returned to the Foreign Office. It further claims Khan and the PTI misused the document for political gains and has alleged this damaged Pakistan’s ties with the international community. The PTI, however, maintains the document contained a threat from the U.S. to oust Khan as prime minister. Both men have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The Supreme Court last week granted post-arrest bails of both Khan and Qureshi in the case. However, Khan remains incarcerated because he is also under arrest in two separate NAB cases. Qureshi, meanwhile, was set to be released when he was re-arrested outside Adiala Jail in connection with cases linked to the May 9 riots.