ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday rejected the pleas of former prime minister Imran Khan seeking bail and cancellation of the first information report (FIR) in the cipher case.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq announced the court order today which was reserved on October 16 after arguments were completed from both sides.
On the last hearing, the counsel for Imran Khan, Sardar Latif Khosa, had contended that an FIR could not be registered against his client since the federal cabinet of the former prime minister declassified the cipher.
He further stated that the ex-premier enjoyed immunity as provided in Article 248 of the Constitution which protects the president, governor, prime minister, federal minister, minister of state, chief minister, and provincial minister for their “act done or purported to be done.”
On Thursday, the IHC rejected Imran Khan’s petition against the trial being held in jail. The court had ruled that Khan should be given a right to free trial.
The former prime minister has been in jail since August 5 when he was arrested minutes after an accountability court in Islamabad convicted him of corrupt practices in the Toshakhana case.
He was arrested from inside Attock prison on August 29 in the cipher case, registered under the Official Secrets Act.
Khan eventually managed to obtain bail in the Toshakhana case but could not be released due to his arrest in the cipher case.
Since going to jail in August, Khan has not been brought to a single court hearing despite continuing to face a plethora of cases from corruption to May 9 rioting. All hearings in the cipher case have so far been held inside prison, first in Attock and then in Adiala.
Meanwhile, Khan along with former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi have already been indicted in the cipher case. Khan has been charged with illegally retaining and communicating the contents of the classified cipher written by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington. Qureshi has been accused of abetting him.
If found guilty, Khan could be sentenced to up to fourteen years in prison or even death.
