Attock Jail
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) reserved a verdict on Tuesday in response to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s petition, which challenged the Law Ministry’s notification to conduct his trial in Attock jail for a cipher case.
Imran Khan, the deposed prime minister, is currently in judicial custody until September 13 in connection with the cipher case. He lodged the plea against the law ministry’s notification through his counsel, Sher Afzal Marwat.
Imran Khan has been incarcerated since his conviction in the Toshakhana case on August 5 for failing to accurately declare gifts he received during his time in office.
The IHC had overturned a lower court’s decision, which had sentenced him to three years in prison with a fine of Rs100,000. This judgment had prevented him from participating in upcoming elections, and he remains in custody due to his judicial remand related to the cipher case.
In his petition, the PTI chief urged the court to invalidate the notification, labeling it “illegal” to transfer the trial to Attock jail. IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq reserved the verdict on the plea challenging the ministry’s notification after listening to the arguments.
The court had previously requested an explanation from the respondents regarding the notice.
During the hearing, Additional Attorney General Munawar Iqbal Duggal informed the court that the cipher case hearing at Attock jail had been a one-time permission.
He stated, “The case hearing took place in [Attock] jail on August 30,” and he also noted that the ministry had issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) for conducting the trial in the prison.
