NOC
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Interior today issued an NOC to conduct trial of Imran Khan in Adiala Jail in the cipher case.
The Ministry issued the NOC on Tuesday in response to the special court judge’s letter on this matter.
PTI chairman and former premier Imran Khan has been transferred to Adiala Jail a few days ago on the directive of the Islamabad High Court.
Meanwhile, the IHC reserved its decision regarding in in-camera hearing of the cipher case on Monday. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) requested the court for an in-camera hearing for PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s bail application in the cipher case.
IHCÂ Chief Justice Aamer Farooq considered the applications on Monday.
“We need to decide whether the hearing will be in-camera or in an open court”, the Chief Justice stated while reserving the decision.
During the hearing, Imran Khan’s lawyers opposed the application for an in-camera hearing. IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq stated that the case would be scheduled for another hearing soon. When Imran Khan’s lawyer asked for a date within the next one to two days, the CJ responded that his office would handle the matter.
The FIA lawyer emphasized that the cypher was a classified document, and its contents could not be disclosed publicly. He also mentioned that an open trial of the cypher case could impact Pakistan’s relations with foreign countries mentioned in the document.
Lawyer Salman Safdar argued that while proceedings in a trial court could be conducted in-camera, the same could not be applied to bail proceedings.
Safdar mentioned that if there was a sensitive matter involved, it could be heard by the judge in the chamber.
The lawyer also informed the court that he had prepared to livestream the hearing, but the FIA had instead requested an in-camera hearing. Justice Farooq replied that a committee was working on finding a way to livestream proceedings. The CJ added that the matter had been placed before the full court.
Cipher Case Developments and Official Secrets Act Implications
A day earlier, the FIA filed miscellaneous applications to conduct an in-camera hearing on the bail application of the PTI chief.
The development occurred a day after the FIA declared former prime minister and ex-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi as the principal accused in the cypher case. The agency filed a charge sheet in the Special Court established under the Official Secrets Act on Saturday.
The FIA did not include former planning minister Asad Umar in their list of accused individuals. However, sources said that former principal secretary Azam Khan has become a witness for the FIA, and they attached his statement to the charge sheet.
