Islamabad, Nov 22: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted for hearing the bail plea of jailed former premier Imran Khan in the cipher case and issued notices to the Federation and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), seeking their responses in the matter.
In March 2022, Khan and his foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were alleged to have violated the secret laws of the country while handling a communication (cipher) sent by Pakistan’s embassy in Washington.
The diplomatic cable reportedly went missing from Khan’s possession.
A three-member bench comprising Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Ayesha A. Malik, and Justice Yahya Afridi declared as admissible the bail petition filed by the 71-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party chairman through his lawyer Salman Safdar.
The court issued notices to the federal government and the FIA and asked them to respond to the bail petition.
The apex court then adjourned the hearing for an indefinite period.
Earlier, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had rejected Khan’s bail application on October 27.
The ousted premier and his foreign minister Qureshi were indicted on October 23 and their formal trial has already begun with the recording of statements by witnesses.
The Islamabad High Court had upheld the indictment when challenged by 71-year-old Khan.
However, the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday declared the jail trial as illegal as the proper procedure was not adopted for it.
It also said notifications issued for conducting the trial in jail were against the law and spoiled the proceedings, including the indictment of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders and the testimonies of four witnesses.
A special court was conducting the trial in jail citing security concerns since Khan was indicted on the charges last month.
The PTI chairman is currently in Adiala jail after he was indicted by the special court on October 23. (PTI)
