The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s intra-court appeal against his prison trial in the cypher case was dismissed by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday.
The hearing was presided over by a two-person IHC division bench made up of Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat.
Salman Akram Raja, the PTI leader’s attorney, argued before the bench that the federal government lacked the authority to issue a notification authorizing Khan’s trial to be held in jail.
He claimed that issuing jail trial notifications, which he described as an administrative matter, was the responsibility of the Islamabad commissioner.
Attorney Raja claimed that a single IHC bench had ruled that the federal government had the right to choose the judges it wanted to appoint.
They represent the judiciary. He continued, “The federal government lacks any power to ‘pick and choose’ [judges].
Justice Aurangzeb responded by saying, “In this way, the executive will meddle in the authority of the judiciary.”
The division bench stated that after a file was referred to him after objections were raised, the IHC chief justice might create a new bench to address the issue.
The petition’s admissibility will be decided later, Justice Aurangzeb said, adding that at this time, “[but] we are unable to provide you with any interim relief.”
Khan’s jail trial in the cypher case was conducted earlier this month by an IHC single bench, which found no evidence of malice, according to the court’s ruling, which instructed Khan to contact the trial court if he had any remaining concerns.
Khan’s plea challenging his jail trial in the cypher case was heard for days before the judge finally concluded it today. The court’s decision was then made and announced by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq.
The former premier requested that his trial in the aforementioned case take place in open court after his government was overthrown in April of last year as a result of a motion of no confidence.
According to the court, “the jail trial is in favor of the PTI chairman in view of his security,” noting that Khan himself has frequently expressed concerns for his safety.
Following his arrest in August of this year under the Official Secrets Act, the authorities chose to hold the PTI chief’s trial in prison due to security concerns.
In the case involving accusations of misusing diplomatic cable for vested and political purposes, Khan and PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi were indicted a day earlier.
Both of the leaders are being held captive in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.
