The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has decided to lift its stay order on the trial of Imran Khan in the cipher case, nullifying the proceedings that took place from December 14 onward. The decision was made during the hearing of a plea against the in-camera trial in the cipher case, presided over by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb.
In late December, the IHC had issued a stay order, halting the trial against the ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is accused of leaking state secrets. Salman Akram Raja, the counsel for the PTI supremo, argued that the government itself acknowledged that the December 14 order was not erroneous. Raja pleaded with the court to issue orders to invalidate the proceedings of the cipher case that occurred after December 14.
Read more : Imran Seeks Post-Arrest Bail in The Cypher Case from the Supreme Court
During the proceedings, Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan informed the IHC that the in-camera trial of the PTI founder in the cipher case had resumed from the beginning. After considering the arguments presented, the IHC judge decided to revoke the stay order.
Earlier in the week, the Special Court had initiated a fresh trial in the cipher case at Adiala district jail. Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had been indicted for the second time in the case on December 13. Despite being in jail, both leaders pleaded not guilty. The trial was taking place at Adiala Jail, and four witnesses had already recorded their statements when the IHC deemed the government’s notification for a jail trial as “erroneous.” This development underscores the legal complexities and ongoing judicial proceedings surrounding the cipher case against Imran Khan and other PTI leaders.
