Cabinet approval to be sought for Imran’s jail trial

Lawyer says PTI to challenge special court judge’s order in IHC

ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI:

The federal government decided to seek the cabinet approval of the jail trial of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case, sources said on Wednesday.

According to the sources, decision came a day after special court judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain ordered the prison trial in view of security threats. The PTI had announced it would challenged the judge’s order in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The decision of the special court established under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) would be sent to the Law Ministry through the Islamabad chief commissioner, the sources said that the ministry would issue a notification of the prison trial after its approval of the federal cabinet.

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Earlier, talking to the media persons outside the Adiala Jail after a hearing of the £190 million Al Qadir University case, PTI lawyer Sardar Latif Khosa said that he would move the high court against Judge Zulqarnain order in the cipher case.

He said that he would raise the point that according to the decision of the judge, the jail superintendent would be authorised to decide as to who would go to the court for the hearing, which was illegal and unconstitutional.

Earlier, Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir heard the interim bail applications of the PTI chairman in the Toshakhana case and of his wife Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana and Al Qadir University cases inside the Adiala Jail.

The judge extended the interim bails till December 6. The lawyer said that PTI chairman's post-arrest bail application in the £190 million Al-Qadir University case would also be filed in the accountability court this week.

During the hearing, attended by the Imran and Bibi, the investigation team and prosecutor of the National Accountability Bureua (NAB) told the court that their investigation was still ongoing. The judge ordered the NAB team and the lawyers to submit their final arguments on the next date.

The development comes as Civil Judge Muhammad Mureed Abbas at the Islamabad District and Sessions Courts rejected Imran’s acquittal plea in the judge intimidation case after hearing arguments from both sides. During hearing on Wednesday Prosecutor Rizwan Abbasi completed his arguments.

Meanwhile, a two-member division bench, consisting of Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri will hear a miscellaneous application of Imran for suspension of the decision of the trial court in the Toshakhan case on Thursday (today). Imran was convicted in the Toshakhana case and awarded three-year jail term on August 5.