ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s counsel, Tuesday, requested the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to hold an open court trial of the cypher case.
The counsel made the request before a division bench of the IHC comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Raffat Imtiaz during the hearing of the intra-court appeal (ICA) of Imran Khan who filed it through his counsel Barrister Salman Akram Raja advocate challenging the appointment of an anti-terrorism court judge as presiding officer of the special court for the cipher case and his trial in jail under the Official Secrets Act.
During the hearing, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP), Mansoor Usman Awan, appeared before the court while Salman Akram Raja represented the PTI chairman.
Raja said “if the general public, media, and family members of the accused intended to witness the proceedings of the cypher case then they should be permitted.” He asserted that all people would see that no offence at all was committed in the cipher case.
Therefore, he requested the bench to permit an open trial of the cypher case. Justice Miangul asked the AGP that the trial should not be proceeded with in an incompatible manner.
The AGP assured the court that he would ensure that the rights of the accused were not affected. The IHC judge said that justice should not only be done but should also be exhibited.
Later, the bench deferred the hearing of the case till next Tuesday for further proceedings. Earlier, Barrister Salman Akram Raja argued that the appointment of Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain was “unlawful” because the Law Ministry notified it without prior consultation with the chief justice.
He also contended that the judge should be appointed after consultation with the concerned chief justice but the federal government appointed a judge of the Special Court of Official Secret Act on its own.
Raja argued that the consultation should be carried out with the chief justice of Pakistan as it was a federal matter.
He informed the bench that the general public, family members of the accused, and the media have no access to jail trial of this case. He further said the trial was being conducted in a small room of the jail and the rights of the accused should also be kept in view in that matter.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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