ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has reserved its decision on the application submitted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The application requested an in-camera hearing for PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s bail application in the cipher case.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq considered the applications on Monday. It’s important to note that Khan’s bail application is also scheduled for today (Monday).
“We need to decide whether the hearing will be in-camera or in an open court”, the Chief Justice stated.
During the hearing, Imran Khan’s lawyers opposed the application for an in-camera hearing. IHC Chief Justice Amaer Farooq stated that the case would be scheduled for another hearing soon. When Imran Khan’s lawyer asked for a date within the next one to two days, the CJ responded that his office would handle the matter.
The FIA lawyer emphasized that the cypher was a classified document, and its contents could not be disclosed publicly. He also mentioned that an open trial of the cypher case could impact Pakistan’s relations with foreign countries mentioned in the document.
Lawyer Salman Safdar argued that while proceedings in a trial court could be conducted in-camera, the same could not be applied to bail proceedings.
Safdar mentioned that if there was a sensitive matter involved, it could be heard by the judge in the chamber.
The lawyer also informed the court that he had prepared to livestream the hearing, but the FIA had instead requested an in-camera hearing. Justice Farooq replied that a committee was working on finding a way to livestream proceedings. The CJ added that the matter had been placed before the full court.
Cipher Case Developments and Official Secrets Act Implications
A day earlier, the FIA filed a miscellaneous application to conduct an in-camera hearing on the bail application of the PTI chief.
The development occurred a day after the FIA declared former prime minister and ex-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi as the principal accused in the cypher case. The agency filed a charge sheet in the Special Court established under the Official Secrets Act on Saturday.
The FIA did not include former planning minister Asad Umar in their list of accused individuals. However, sources said that former principal secretary Azam Khan has become a witness for the FIA, and they attached his statement to the charge sheet.
Azam has already testified against Imran Khan.
In the charge sheet, the FIA invoked sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act, which may result in a death sentence or imprisonment ranging from two to 14 years, if proven.
According to the charge sheet, the PTI chairman violated the Official Secrets Act by keeping the cypher with him. The charge sheet stated, according to the sources, that Khan received a copy of the cypher but never returned it.
Earlier this month, the superintendent of Attock Jail informed the court that prison rules did not permit Khan to speak to his sons via telephone.
