Cipher case: special court summons PTI chairman, vice chairman

ISLAMABAD: A special court has issued an order for the appearance of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi on November 28 in connection with the cipher case.

Notably, this marks the first time in the trial’s history that the hearing took place at the Judicial Complex in G-11, diverging from the usual venue at Adiala Jail.

Presided over by Judge Abu Alhasnaat Zulqurnain, the brief hearing unfolded swiftly, lasting only a matter of minutes. Present at the hearing were lawyers Taimur Malik, Ali Bukhari, and Khalid Yousaf. During the session, the judge requested a copy of the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) divisional bench, promptly supplied by the court staff.

SC seeks responses from Federation, FIA in cipher case

This development comes in the wake of the IHC’s ruling on November 21, which deemed the jail trial in the cipher case as illegal. The court’s decision encompassed proceedings dating back to August 29, including the indictment itself.

On Tuesday, the IHC declared the jail trial of PTI chairman in the cipher case as null and void. A division bench comprising Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Raffat announced the reserved verdict on the intra-court appeal filed by Khan against the jail trial of his case.

Another update unveiled yesterday (Wednesday), when the Supreme Court of Pakistan, led by a three-member bench comprising Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Ayesha A. Malik, and Justice Yahya Afridi, deemed the bail plea of Imran Khan in the cipher case as admissible.

The apex court also issued notices to both the federation and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on the same day, requesting their responses to Imran Khan’s bail plea. The PTI Chairman and his party’s vice-chairman, Shah Mahmood Qureshi were indicted in the cipher case on October 23.