The Islamabad High Court has issued a stay order on the jail trial of PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the cipher case.
The court passed this order while hearing appeals against the jail trial of the former prime minister and seeking an open court trial as well as the appointment of the Official Secrets Act special court judge.
Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Riffat heard the intra-court appeal.
Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb said the next hearing was being fixed for Thursday and sought a complete record of the reasons for a jail trial in the case.
The court also rejected the attorney general’s plea against a stay on the proceedings. The AGP had asked not to grant a stay and fix the case for tomorrow.
Also Read: Imran Khan's arrest warrants issued in Toshakhana, 190m pound cases
Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb said according to the records, the anti-terrorism court judge was appointed by the executive. He added that the chief justice was consulted on the appointment, but the executive started the process of the posting and ended it too.
The Indira Gandhi case was heard in jail, but the BBC and other journalists were allowed to cover it, the judge remarked, adding that was also the trial of a former prime minister, as is the present one.
The judge asked the attorney general to tell the court what really happened. The AGP said he would present the entire case record before the court.
Justice Aurangzeb said family members attending the hearing did not mean it was an open court. The manner in which the charge was filed in the cipher case also cannot be called an open court proceeding.
AGP Mansoor Usman Awan said the federal cabinet had approved the jail trial of cipher case.
The court said all trials will be held in open court, adding that this way this will be an extraordinary trial.
The court then adjourned the proceedings of the case till Nov 16.
Talking to the media, Imran Khan’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja said they had taken the plea that a trial in a closed room of the jail is not a trial. The basic requirement of the Constitution is that the trial should be held in open court, he added.
“Everyone, especially the media, should be allowed to see what is going on,” Raja commented.
He further said their point was put forward before the court by the attorney general for Pakistan.
The court took notice of the fact that just yesterday the cabinet decided that the trial should be in jail, he told the media. “Then how was the trial happening in the jail until this morning if the cabinet's decision was made just yesterday?” Raja asked.
If it was decided that the proceedings conducted so far were unconstitutional, the entire action taken would have to be nullified.
