The Islamabad High Court will announce its reserved decision on petitions against the jail trial of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the cipher case.
IHC’s reigstrar office issued a cause list saying that the decision Justice Aamer Farooq had reserved weeks earlier will be announced on Monday.
Khan’s lawyers had challenged the notification allowing for hearing in the cipher case to be held in Adiala Jail instead of open court.
The Federal Investigation Agency, which is pursuing the case, had told the IHC that holding the trial in open court could damage Pakistan’s diplomatic relations.
The prosecutor had also told the court that the cipher is a top-secret document whose contents cannot be revealed to the public.
The FIA invoked in the challan sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act which may lead to death sentence, or two to 14 years’ imprisonment, if proved.
As per the challan, the PTI chairman violated the Official Secrets Act by keeping the cipher with him. A copy of the cipher reached Khan but it was never returned, the challan stated, according to the sources.
All proceedings in the cipher case so far have been held inside jail, with only Imran’s lawyers allowed to be present during the hearing. Members of the media as well as Khan’s family or party officials have not been allowed to see the trials.
Although initially arrested in the Toshakhana case on August 5, Imran was later arrested from inside jail in the cipher case. He has not been brought to any court hearings since.
