The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday ruled that the hearing on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan’s bail plea in the cipher case, registered under the Official Secrets Act, will take place in an open court.
The IHC announced a verdict that it had reserved earlier this week on the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) plea seeking an in-camera hearing on the PTI chief’s bail application in the cipher case.
In today’s verdict, the IHC stated that an open court hearing on the bail petition will be held on October 9. However, the IHC clarified that arguments by lawyers on documents regarded as sensitive will be heard in-camera.
The FIA had appealed to the IHC for an in-camera hearing on Khan’s bail plea in the cipher case, expressing concerns that an open court hearing could potentially harm Pakistan’s diplomatic ties with other states if the matter were discussed publicly.
FIA Special Prosecutor Shah Khawar informed the court that, under the Official Secrets Act, a trial cannot be made public. He also mentioned that a similar plea would be submitted in the trial court.
“There are some statements and information that cannot be made public,” stated the lawyer. He added that they also needed to present statements related to other countries before the court.
The lawyer representing PTI chief Imran Khan, Salman Safdar, opposed the FIA’s plea for an in-camera hearing.
Last month, Imran Khan had filed a bail application in the IHC in connection with the cipher case.
The special court, established under the Official Secrets Act and responsible for hearing the case against Imran Khan and his party’s Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, had previously rejected their post-arrest bail applications. Both leaders are currently on judicial remand until October 10 in the cipher case.
The FIA had charged them under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly mishandling and misusing a classified document for political gain in August of this year. Subsequently, both leaders were arrested in connection with the investigation into the case, and a special court was set up under the Official Secrets Act to prosecute the accused
