A special court, established to hear the cases filed under the Official Secrets Act, approved a petition that sought in-camera proceedings of the cipher case against former prime minister Imran Khan and ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday.

Special court judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain announced the reserved verdict. The in-camera proceedings would be conducted on Friday (tomorrow).

The cipher case pertains to a diplomatic document that reportedly went missing from Khan’s possession. The PTI alleges that the document contained a threat from the United States to oust Imran from office because of his stance on Russia.

Khan’s sisters and Qureshi’s family were also present in the jail when the case was being heard on Thursday.

The order of the court also said that any coverage of the cipher trial in print, electronic or social media would henceforth be banned. The order added that the instructions should be communicatd to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority and Pakistan Telecom Authority.

The order said that members of the public and media would no longer be allowed inside the courtroom during the proceedings.

The court also ordered that henceforth, the attendance of the accused’s family members would be conditional – the condition being that they would not be allowed to reveal any proceedings of the case.