Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday issued a restraining order against Pakistan Justice Movement (PTI) chairman Imran Khan in a cipher case against him.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rifat Imtiaz heard the intra-court appeal of the PTI chief against the trial in Adiala Jail During this decision announced.
The move comes after the caretaker federal cabinet approved a prison trial of former prime minister and PTI vice chairman Shah Mahmoud Qureshi on Monday.
The cabinet approved a summary of the law ministry regarding the case of the former prime minister and foreign minister in Adiala prison due to security concerns.
During today’s hearing, Attorney General Mansour Awan presented his arguments before the court.
“The Attorney General said the federal cabinet had approved Imran Khan’s prison trial. He added that the notification would also be presented to the court.
Justice Aurangzeb said he would check the notification. “All trials will be in open court, so this case will be an extraordinary one, “he commented.
“The judge said, “It would be unusual if it were a prison case.
The attorney general said it was not an unusual case but only a prison case.
The ousted prime minister —, who was removed from office in April last year after a no-confidence motion — transferred the IHC against a prison trial The single bench had rejected on October 16.
The only member bench of IHC Chief Justice Amir Farouk did not declare any clear dishonesty behind Khan’s prison trial in the cipher case. The court also instructed them to approach the trial court if reservations were maintained.
Khan later filed an intra-court appeal against the decision of the single bench.
In August this year، Khan and Qureshi were prosecuted in a cipher case under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, when the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) requested Section 5 of the said Act Was.
The diplomatic cable allegedly disappeared from Imran’s possession. According to the former ruling party, the cable threatened to overthrow the PTI government by the United States.
Khan and Qureshi have been indicted by a special court and are currently being held in Adiala prison in the cipher case.
What is a cipher gate?
The controversy first erupted on March 27, 2022، When Imran Khan — waved a letter to the crowd less than a month before his dismissal in April 2022, — addressed a public rally, Claiming that it was a cipher of a foreign nation who, along with his political rivals, conspired to overthrow the PTI government.
He did not reveal the contents of the letter nor did he mention the name of the nation from which it came. But a few days later، He accused the United States of plotting against him and demanded his removal by Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lowe What is it.
This cipher was about the former ambassador of Pakistan in the meeting with American Majeed Lou.
The former prime minister claimed that he was reading the contents from the cipher, saying “If Imran Khan is removed from power, all will be forgiven for Pakistan”.
Then, on March 31, the National Security Committee (NSC) raised the issue and decided to issue it to the United States for its “strong demarcation “Open interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs”.
Later, after his dismissal, then-Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif convened an NSC meeting which concluded that he had been involved in a foreign conspiracy on cable No evidence found.
In two audio leaks that stormed the Internet and shocked the public after the events, former Prime Minister Assad Omar, then federal minister, And then-Principal Secretary Azam Khan can be heard talking about the alleged American cipher and using it to his advantage.
On September 30, the federal cabinet took note of the matter and formed a committee to investigate the contents of the audio leak.
In October, the cabinet gave a green signal to take action against the former prime minister and handed over the case to the FIA.
Once the FIA was tasked with investigating the case, it summoned Imran, Assad Omar and other party leaders, But the PTI chief challenged the summons and obtained a restraining order from the court.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) withdrew a restraining order from the FIA in July this year against the call-up notice to Imran.