The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday reserved a verdict on PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s plea against indictment in the cipher case.
The PTI chairman’s counsel, Salman Safdar, expressed concerns in the Islamabad High Court, stating that the trial court has indicated a likelihood of rejecting any application he submits.
When questioned by the court about the source of this information, Salman Safdar provided the relevant court order dated October 17 to the High Court.
Later, the honorable court reserved its verdict regarding the petition, while the decision on two applications for bail and dismissal of the case will be pronounced on Friday.
On October 23, PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi were indicted in the cipher case. However, both suspects pleaded not guilty. The special court of the Official Secrets Act issued notice to summon the government lawyers for October 27.
On Oct 17, PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi could not be indicted in the cipher case. The copies of the investigation report were shared with the suspects, however.
Cipher case: Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood declared guilty
The special court of the Official Secrets Act re-distributed copies of the investigation report among the suspects over the objection of their lawyers.
After a hearing in Adiala Jail, Special Prosecutor Shah Khawar told the media that the proceedings were postponed until October 23.
PTI lawyer Sher Afzal Marwat told the media that they were not given copies of the report at the last hearing, because of which the indictment has been postponed. He said they received copies of the report, so the charges will be framed at the next hearing.
Marwat also told the media that the PTI chief and Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood were once again brought to the court in a cage. He claimed that Judge Zulqernain said the next hearing would take place in a bigger room.
The lawyer informed the media that the statements of 22 people who held press conferences over the May 9 events were recorded, while the statements of PTI members were also recorded under Section 164 of CrPC.
He also feared that Imran Khan’s case would be sent to the military court based on these statements, the lawyer claimed.
PTI lawyer Salman Safdar claimed the high court pronounced a verdict on the jail trial, but they did not get the copies. He hoped a decision would be announced on the remaining applications by Monday.
He said Imran Khan was informed about the legal matters, and he asked to challenge the decision on the jail trial. The high court verdict will be challenged by Salman Akram Raja.
