The Islamabad High Court (IHC) revoked the stay order on Thursday in the cypher case trial, declaring all proceedings after December 14 null and void.
Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the appeal against the in-camera trial of PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan in the cypher case.
The IHC had stopped the trial of the case till January 11.
During today’s hearing, Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan and Imran’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja appeared in court.
Following the AGP’s arguments, Raja maintained that the proceedings after the December 14 order should be declared null and void as the order was incorrect.
The special court hearing the cypher case had on December 14 accepted the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) plea seeking an in-camera trial of the former premier and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, his co-accused. The plea was accepted despite the IHC’s earlier order calling for the trial to be heard in open court.
Justice Aurangzeb then told the AGP that if he wanted the proceedings to start again, then he should do it from the date the order was passed. A relevant order will also be issued in this regard.
AGP Awan assured to start the proceedings again, adding that 13 witnesses were ready to have their statements recorded again.
Later, the court annulled all proceedings of the cypher case trial after December 14 and cancelled the stay order.
In the previous hearing, the court noted that the in-camera statements of the remaining nine witnesses were not in accordance with law and must be examined. According to the AGP, the statements of 12 witnesses were recorded in an open trial after December 21.
Read Key witnesses record statements in cypher case
The order read that an open trial could not be conducted in-camera on the mere request of the prosecution.
The order stated that the re-recording of the testimonies of the nine witnesses in the in-camera trial would be considered in the final judgment.
The IHC noted that in the cypher trial, the special court released the certified copies of witnesses’ statements. It added that the IHC would examine from the certified copies whether any damage could be caused to the state or not.
Earlier during the hearing, Justice Aurangzeb remarked that the SC had declared the material insufficient in its judgment in this case. He added that before the court was a case of first impression and the safety of the state should not be compromised.
The cypher
The case originates from Imran’s public display of a paper during a rally in Islamabad on March 27, 2022, claiming it as evidence of an “international conspiracy” before a vote of no-confidence led to his government’s ouster.
The FIA initiated its probe into the so-called “cypher-gate” on July 19, 2023, after the previous coalition government announced an official inquiry against the former prime minister and his close associates for violating the OSA.
Imran was arrested on August 5, following his conviction in the Toshakhana case by a local court of Islamabad. Later, he was also arrested in the cypher case on August 29.
As per the challan papers, Imran and Qureshi were charged under sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act. These provisions entail the possibility of the death penalty or life imprisonment.
Previously, the cypher trial had started inside the Adiala jail but an IHC division bench later annulled all the proceedings, ordering a fresh open court trial.
