ISLAMABAD: On Tuesday, the Ministry of Law and Justice announced its approval for conducting the trial of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the cipher case under the Official Secrets Act at Attock jail.
The notification of the ministry stated,
“In light of rules and orders of [the] Lahore High Court, Lahore, Volume Ill, Instructions to Criminal Courts Chapter-l, Practice in trial of criminal cases Part A, General (3) read with section 352 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 and on the request of Judge, Special Court (Official Secrets Act, 1923), Islamabad, dated 12.09.2023, [The] Law & Justice Division has “No Objection” on conducting the trial of the accused (Mr. Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi), due to security concerns, in District Jail Attock under the Official Secrets Act, 1923 (Act No. XIX of 1923) by the said Judge on 13th September, 2023.”
Despite the Islamabad High Court (IHC) reserving its verdict on Khan’s petition challenging the Law Ministry’s notification to hold his trial in Attock jail, the ministry issued the notification.
Khan, the deposed prime minister, who is in judicial custody until September 13 in the cipher case, filed a plea in the IHC against the law ministry’s notification through his counsel Sher Afzal Marwat.
Khan has remained in prison since his August 5 conviction in the Toshakhana case for failing to properly declare gifts received while in office.
The IHC, overturning a lower court’s decision that would have jailed him for three years with an Rs100,000 fine and barred him from upcoming elections, has kept him incarcerated due to his judicial remand in the cipher case.
IHC Reserves Verdict on Imran Khan’s Cipher Case Challenge
On August 18, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) booked Khan under the Official Secrets Act 1923 in the cipher case, invoking Section 5 of the said law.
After an investigation, the FIA’s counter-terrorism wing registered the case against the former premier, citing his deliberate misuse of classified documents.
Subsequently, a special court was established under the Official Secrets Act, which placed Khan on judicial remand until August 30, later extending it for 14 days until September 13.
In his petition, the PTI chief requested the court to declare the notification null and void, citing its “illegality” in shifting the court to Attock jail.
After hearing the arguments today, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq reserved the verdict on the plea challenging the ministry’s notification. The court had requested an explanation from the respondents regarding the notice.
