Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq has ruled that PTI Chairman Imran Khan be shifted from Attock’s district jail to Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, where he is currently incarcerated in the cipher case.
Imran Khan was sent to jail on August 5 after being convicted in the Toshakhana case. However, there were discrepancies in the order as he was initially supposed to be held in Adiala jail but was taken to Attock jail instead. The Lahore High Court had suspended his sentence in the Toshakhana case on August 29, but he was still held in “judicial lockup” at Attock jail in connection with the cipher case.
During the hearing, Justice Farooq questioned why Imran Khan was being held at Attock jail when all under-trial prisoners from Islamabad were detained at Adiala jail. He directed the authorities to shift Imran Khan to Adiala jail.
The IHC also reserved its verdict on Imran Khan’s plea seeking an open hearing of his bail petition in the cipher case. Special prosecutors argued that the hearing should be held in-camera due to the Official Secrets Act, while Imran Khan’s lawyers contended that the special court judge had held the hearing at Attock jail for security reasons, not because of the Secrets Act.
Justice Farooq noted that he would decide how to proceed with the case after reviewing the record. A written verdict has yet to be issued regarding the open hearing of the bail petition.
