The Islamabad High Court (IHC) deferred its decision on plea of Imran Khan contesting the Law Ministry’s notification to hold his trial in Attock jail in a cipher case on Tuesday.
The former prime minister, who is being held in judicial custody in the cipher case till September 13, filed a petition in the IHC against the law ministry’s announcement through his counsel, Sher Afzal Marwat.
Imran Khan Jailed in Toshakhana Case
Imran Khan has been in prison since his August 5 conviction in the Toshakhana case for failing to properly register gifts he received while in office.
Although the IHC rejected a lower court’s order to imprison him for three years and punish him Rs. 100,000 — a decision that barred him from running in the next elections – he remained imprisoned due to his judicial remand in the cipher case.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) used Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act 1923 to charge Imran Khan in the cipher case on August 18.
FIA’s Investigation
Following an investigation, the FIA’s counter-terrorism wing registered the case against the former premier after determining his willful involvement in abusing the sensitive document.
Following that, a special court was constituted under the Official Secrets Act, and Khan was placed on judicial detention until August 30, which was then extended to 14 days till September 13.
The PTI head asked the court in his appeal to declare the notification null and void because it was “illegal” to move the court to Attock jail.
After hearing the arguments today, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq deferred his decision on the petition contesting the ministry’s notification. The court had requested an explanation from the notice’s respondents.
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