https://arab.news/mnyyn
- The government has accused Khan of leaking state secrets and using them for political gains
- Khan’s lawyers had challenged government order, fearing unfair trial behind closed prison doors
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday annulled a government order approving a jail trial for former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a case that has famously come to be called the cipher case and in which he is charged with leaking state secrets.
The saga relates to an alleged diplomatic correspondence between Washington and Islamabad that Khan says was proof that his ouster as PM in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in April 2022 was part of a US conspiracy to remove him. Washington has repeatedly denied Khan’s accusations. Khan had waved a letter to a crowd during a public rally last year, claiming it was a cipher from a foreign nation calling for the end of his government. Khan later revealed that country to be the US and said the secret diplomatic letter spoke of dire consequences if he continued to get closer to Russia.
The government has since accused Khan of leaking state secrets and using them for political gains. A special court was formed on Aug 21 under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, to adjudicate the case through in-camera proceedings. On Aug. 29, before the first hearing in the case could be held, the law ministry announced the trial would be held in prison due to “security concerns.” All hearings of the case have since been heard in jail, with no members of the public or media allowed.
“The Islamabad High Court Tuesday nullified the notification for conducting former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s jail trial in the cipher case — issued on August 29,” Geo News reported.
All major Pakistani media outlets reported on the verdict, saying the IHC had issued a short order for now and would issue a detailed verdict later.
Khan’s lawyers had opposed the government’s decision to hold a jail trial, saying they were concerned the ex-PM would not get a fair trial behind closed doors. Last month, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party also took the matter to the Islamabad High Court where its plea was turned down by Chief Justice Aamir Farooq who said there was apparently no malice behind the government’s decision to hold the jail trial.
Khan’s legal team then filed an intra-court appeal against the decision which led the Islamabad High Court to issue a stay order against the prison trial.
Last week, the Pakistan government approved Khan’s jail trial in a separate case of a £190 million settlement with a property tycoon.
Khan is currently being held at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail where he is serving a three-year jail sentence in a case in which he was convicted in August for not declaring assets earned from the sale of state gifts while he was PM.