ISLAMABAD: The special court hearing the cypher case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi issued directives to produce both the accused before it on November 28.

The special court judge, Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain, while hearing the case, ordered to produce Imran Khan and Qureshi in the court located at Federal Judicial Complex (FJC) and adjourned the hearing of the case till November 28.

Khan and Qureshi are currently imprisoned in the cypher and Al-Qadir Trust cases at Adiala jail.

The court has been conducting the trial of the case in jail indicted Khan and Qureshi on October 23 and also recorded statements of four prosecution witnesses.

However, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) division bench on November 21 declared the proceedings of Khan’s and Qureshi’s trial conducted in jail in the cypher case so far as null and void.

The IHC termed the government’s notification for jail trial erroneous and scrapped the entire proceedings. As a result of the IHC judgment, the special court would now start a fresh trial while the prosecution would have to file a fresh application to conduct the trial in jail.

During the hearing, PTI chairman’s counsel Khalid Yousaf and Qureshi’s lawyer Ali Bukhari appeared before the court. At the start of the hearing, the judge inquired about the copy of the IHC judgment. The court staff provided a copy of the IHC judgment to the judge.

The judge said the trial would now begin from the position prior to August 29.

Later, the court adjourned the hearing of the case till November 28.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023