On Wednesday, Imran Khan, the leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, challenged the special court’s indictment order of October 17 in the cypher case before the Islamabad High Court (IHC). Represented by his counsel, Sher Afzal Marwat, the former prime minister has requested the court to declare the special court’s order from October 9 null and void.
In his plea, the former premier argued that the special court had instructed him to receive copies of the case, which he has not yet done. He added that the court was initiating the indictment process without waiting for the IHC’s decision on his appeal challenging the in-camera proceedings of the cypher case.
Two days earlier, a special court established under the Official Secrets Act formally initiated the cypher case trial involving Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan and Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, setting October 17 as the date for their indictment.
Special Court Judge Abul Hasanat Zulqarnain ordered the distribution of the charge-sheet copies to the accused, rejecting the defense’s request to delay the process until the Islamabad High Court’s reserved ruling on their plea regarding the in-prison trial. However, both Imran and Qureshi declined to receive the charge-sheet copies and sign the relevant documents. Their lawyers raised concerns that proper legal procedures and rules were not being followed and stated their intention to challenge the decision in the IHC.
The cypher case revolves around a diplomatic document that allegedly went missing from Imran’s possession. Earlier, Imran had claimed that this document provided evidence of a foreign conspiracy to remove his government through a no-confidence motion in April of the previous year.
Imran was arrested and transferred to Attock Jail on August 5, 2023, following a three-year prison sentence in the Toshakhana case issued by an Islamabad court. After the suspension of his sentence by the IHC, he was arrested in the cypher case and remained in custody on judicial remand.
The PTI leader was later moved to Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail from the Attock district jail upon his appeal to the IHC. On September 26, the judicial remand of both PTI leaders was extended until October 10. On September 30, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) named Imran and Qureshi as the principal accused in the case.
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