Imran Khan Secures Win as Islamabad High Court Delays Jail Trial Proceedings

The Islamabad High Court has extended the injunction against the appointment of a special court judge and to stop the jail trial of the cipher case till tomorrow. A hearing was held on the intra-court appeal against the jail trial of Chairman PTI in the cipher case.

Chairman PTI’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja argued that the matter of appointment of judge is also very important, I will place some facts before the court. Starting with the High Court, there are hundreds of subordinate judiciary judges in Islamabad.

Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb said that the Additional Attorney General had presented the record before this court, we have seen the documents, the process for the appointment was started from the Islamabad High Court, Salman Akram Raja said that we were not even shown those documents. went

Justice Hasan Aurangzeb said that we had the same question in our mind, but after seeing the documents, the situation became clear, you should first answer the objection of the Attorney General that the appeal was inadmissible, Salman Akram Raja said that on an excuse in the name of security. Chairman PTI is not being produced in any court.

Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb said that among the documents submitted by the Attorney General there is also a note from the CCPO. , the Law Ministry said that Chairman PTI is a security threat that warrants a jail trial.

Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb said that apparently there was a special report in which security concerns were mentioned, the CCPO sent the report to the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Interior sent the report to the Ministry of Law, the Ministry of Law sent that notification to the trial court. Sent to the judge.

Salman Akram Raja said that I came to know about this letter only after the Attorney General submitted the documents.

Salman Akram Raja said that general security concerns have been mentioned in the notification, I have come to know about this letter only after the Attorney General has submitted the documents, the court said that there is no mention of life threat in the notification nor the ministry. The special report of admission is mentioned.

Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb said that the government can also apply for a jail trial through the prosecution, Salman Akram Raja said that if a request for a jail trial comes, the court can take notice and take a decision after hearing the other side. Jail trial notification cannot be issued under section 9, venue of court can be changed under this section but not mention of jail trial.

Salman Akram Raja took the position that this is a case of death sentence or life imprisonment, it should be strictly followed according to the law. Lawyer Salman Akram Raja replied that the government should have placed the matter before the concerned judge.

Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb said that Raja Sahib should give his arguments if the appeal is admissible, Salman Akram Raja said that the Ministry of Law’s notification of prison trial on October 29 is not correct, there is also confusion as to what the purpose of prison trial is. is This is due to security concerns or to keep the public away from a sensitive case.

Salman Akram Raja said that the intra-court appeal against the original order is admissible, Section 9 deals with changing the venues of the Sessions Courts, this section does not mention the changing of the venues of the Special Courts, Section 9 is about changing the venues of the Sessions Courts. Relating to the unwritten jail trial, the trial court rejected the prosecution’s plea under Section 14 of the Official Secrets Act.

Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb said that you should first complete your arguments when the appeal is admissible, after you we the Attorney General will hear the counter arguments, the court wants to clear its mind when the case is admissible, I assure you. That you will be given another chance while giving your arguments, you take a short break, we will hear the Attorney General when it is admissible.

Attorney General Mansoor Awan said in his arguments that the trial of the cipher case started with the indictment on October 23, all the court proceedings before that were pre-trial proceedings. Placed before the judge? The Attorney General said that no, that report was not placed before the trial court judge.

Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb said that the trial court judge wrote the first letter based on what material? If hearing arguments on merits, you will have to satisfy the court on this point,

The court said that what information did the judge have in the letter he wrote regarding security concerns? Justice Mian Gul Hasan asked whether the special reports were shared with him. The Attorney General said that this matter was generally in the public domain and the court was also aware of it.

Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb said that thank you Mr. Attorney General, the lawyer said that the jail hearing notifications continued to be issued and the judges continued to move the proceedings quickly, but the Islamabad High Court in this most important case, on our request for several weeks. So the decision was reserved, they say that an open trial is going on in the jail.

Lawyer Salman Akram Raja said that this is an open trial in which the children of Shah Mehmood Qureshi are not allowed to sit. Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb said that the court has noted that the Ministry of Law has removed the word jail in the notification issued on September 25. gave

The lawyer said that the trial court judge said that there is no injunction, so they will continue the proceedings, the statements of three witnesses are being recorded at each hearing, all court proceedings in the trial court till November 15 are illegal.

Justice Mian Gul Hasan said that we don’t know what this case is and we don’t want to know, even this court doesn’t want to go into the issue of indictment, we only want to go into the issue of trial in jail and appointment of judge. Looking at the points.

Lawyer Salman Akram Raja said that if there is a jail trial, at least the judge should be changed. Justice Hassan Aurangzeb said that when I was the administrative judge of the special courts, I used to receive complaints. The staff is under the Ministry of Law, the judges of the special courts used to complain that the staff do not listen to us, those judges and even the High Court cannot take disciplinary action against the staff.

Justice Hasan Aurangzeb discussed with the Attorney General that these things are an obstacle in the way of delivering justice to the courts. Three accountability courts were approved during the tenure of Chairman PTI. Couldn’t be.

Salman Akram Raja said that our request is that the proceedings of the cipher case before the approval of the cabinet and the new notification should be declared null and void. Are you?

Salman Akram Raja said that yes my lord, there is no legal status of the proceedings without public, Chairman PTI’s jail trial has been made an in-camera trial, family members were not allowed to go in this trial. .

Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb said that this court had also put a question in its first written order, what will be the status of the trial before the approval of the federal cabinet? Make it clear in your arguments what you want from this trial.

Salman Akram Raja said that the trial before the approval of the federal cabinet is against the law, the trial before the approval of the cabinet should be declared void, Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb inquired whether you want a declaration?

Salman Akram Raja said that no approval was taken from the cabinet in the notifications before November 12. Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb inquired whether the cabinet completed the process legally. What will be the effects of the trial?

Salman Akram Raja said that the trial which took place till November 12 would be void, the court said that the court should be told one by one what was the procedure that had to be followed, the trial before completing the process is not just an irregularity. can say

Justice Hasan Aurangzeb said that the authority to keep the public out of the court proceedings belongs to the concerned judge, the Attorney General is saying that there is no order from the judge to keep the public out, according to the Attorney General there is no such order. Considered it an open trial.

Salman Akram Raja said that the jail trial of chairman PTI is being done to keep the family and public away. Accordingly, the prosecution filed an application in the trial court to exclude the public from the trial.

Salman Akram Raja said that the judge wrote in the order that the public is not present in the hearing of the case.

The court summoned the Registrar Islamabad High Court in the courtroom, Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb said that the Registrar has to ask you two questions, did the High Court write the first letter for the appointment of the Judge of the Official Secret Act? Or did the Ministry of Law initiate the process of appointing a judge?

Justice Hasan Aurangzeb inquired whether the trial judge informed the High Court before the jail trial.

Meanwhile, Registrar Islamabad High Court Sardar Tahir Saber left the courtroom, he will review the records and answer the court’s questions.

The court sought notification of appointment of special court judge and also sought reports on security concerns.

The court extended the injunction order on the appointment of the special court judge and the suspension of the jail trial of the cipher case until tomorrow at 11:00 am.

Background of the case

The cipher case is related to a diplomatic document that allegedly disappeared from Imran Khan’s possession, in which the former prime minister and vice chairman PTI are in jail on judicial remand till September 26.

PTI alleges that in this cipher, Imran Khan was threatened by the US to remove him from power.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi was named in the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the FIA ​​and booked under Section 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code along with Sections 5 (Misuse of Information) and 9 of the Official Secrets Act. went

In the FIR, on 7 March 2022, the then Foreign Secretary received a diplomatic cipher from Washington, on 5 October 2022, a case was registered in the FIA’s counter-terrorism department against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi. And Asad Umar and his aides were named for trying to achieve their own personal interest by endangering national security by distorting the facts of the information contained in the cipher.

It said that former Prime Minister Imran Khan, former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and their aides were involved in providing classified information to unauthorized persons.

Cipher was quoted as saying that ‘they held a secret meeting on March 28, 2022 at Bani Gala (Imran Khan’s residence) to hatch a conspiracy by misusing the details of the cipher to achieve their nefarious purpose’.

It was said in the case that ‘accused Imran Khan with wrong intention instructed his then Principal Secretary Muhammad Azam Khan to prepare minutes in this secret meeting by changing the text of the cipher for his personal interest at the cost of national security. ‘.

The FIR alleged that the copy of the cipher sent to the Prime Minister’s Office was deliberately kept by then Prime Minister Imran Khan with ulterior motives and never returned to the Ministry of External Affairs.

It was further informed that ‘the said cipher (classified secret document) is still illegally in the possession of Imran Khan, the entire cipher security system of the state and Pakistani missions abroad by the unauthorized acquisition and misuse of the cipher telegram by the nominated person. ‘s encrypted messaging mechanism has been compromised’.

The FIR stated that the actions of the accused directly or indirectly benefited external powers and caused damage to the state of Pakistan.

The case filed in the FIA ​​further stated that “the competent authority has approved the registration of the case, therefore, the FIA ​​Anti-Terrorism Wing at the Islamabad Police Station under Sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act of the Pakistan Penal Code.” A case under Section 34 has been filed against former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi for misuse of official secret information and illegal acquisition of Cipher Telegram (official secret document) under the guise of malice and Azam Khan as Principal Secretary, The role of former federal minister Asad Umar and other involved assistants will be determined during the investigation.

⁣What implications‍ does the Islamabad High Court’s extension of the injunction against the jail trial of the cipher case have for the legal proceedings ⁤involving Chairman PTI?

Islamabad ‍High‍ Court Extends Injunction Against Jail Trial ⁢of ​Cipher Case

The Islamabad ⁤High Court has ​extended the injunction against the appointment of a special court⁣ judge and the jail trial of the cipher case till tomorrow. A‍ hearing was held on the intra-court appeal‍ against the jail trial ⁤of Chairman PTI in ‌the cipher case.

During the hearing, Chairman PTI’s lawyer, Salman Akram‌ Raja,‌ argued that the matter of appointment of judge is very important‌ and that he will‌ place some facts ‍before the court. Justice‍ Mian ⁤Gul​ Hasan Aurangzeb,⁢ the presiding judge, said that the Additional Attorney ⁣General had presented the record before the ⁣court, and they had seen the documents. The⁤ process for the appointment was started from the Islamabad High Court, but Salman Akram Raja claimed that ‌they were not even shown those documents.

The court also ​discussed the‌ issue of security concerns ⁢and the ‌jail‌ trial of Chairman PTI. Justice Aurangzeb mentioned that there was a special report‌ in which⁣ security ‍concerns were‍ mentioned, and the CCPO sent the report to the‍ Ministry of Interior, which⁤ then⁣ sent​ it to⁤ the Ministry of Law, and ‍finally⁤ to ⁤the trial court judge. Salman Akram Raja said that ‍he came to know about this letter⁣ only after the Attorney General submitted the documents.

The‍ court also heard arguments from Attorney General Mansoor ⁤Awan, who stated ⁤that the trial of the cipher case started with the indictment on‌ October 23, and all‌ the‌ court ⁤proceedings ‌before that were pre-trial proceedings. Justice Aurangzeb asked if the trial court judge had placed the report before‍ the judge, to which‍ the​ Attorney‌ General replied that no, the report was not ​placed before the trial court judge.

The court expressed concerns⁤ about the security concerns mentioned ⁢in the notification and asked‌ if the⁢ special reports were shared with ​the trial⁢ court ⁢judge. The Attorney ⁤General said ⁤that the⁤ matter was generally in the public domain and the court was also aware of it.

Salman Akram Raja argued that this is a case of death sentence or life imprisonment, and​ it should be strictly followed according to‍ the law. He also mentioned‍ that the government should have placed the matter before the concerned judge. Justice Aurangzeb said‍ that Raja Sahib should give his arguments if the appeal is ⁣admissible, ⁢and‍ that the court wants to clear⁢ its mind ‍when the case ‍is admissible.

The‌ court also discussed the issue‍ of‍ jail trial and ⁣appointment of judge, ​with Salman ‌Akram Raja saying that if there⁤ is a ‌jail trial, at least the judge should be changed. Justice Aurangzeb said that when he was the administrator of the Islamabad High ​Court, ⁣there were hundreds of subordinate‌ judiciary judges ⁤in Islamabad

What are the implications of the Islamabad High Court’s extension of the injunction on the jail trial and judge appointment in the cipher case involving Imran Khan?

Islamabad High Court Extends Injunction on Cipher Case, Raises Questions on Jail Trial and Judge Appointment

In a recent development, the Islamabad High Court has extended the injunction against the appointment of a special court judge and the jail trial of the cipher case, involving Chairman PTI Imran Khan, till the next hearing [[1]]. This decision comes after a hearing on the intra-court appeal against the jail trial of Imran Khan in the cipher case.

The cipher case originated from an incident on March 27,