{"id":29203,"date":"2023-11-28T06:42:05","date_gmt":"2023-11-28T06:42:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/trial-to-continue-in-adiala-jail-in-open-court-judge-hearing-cipher-case-against-imran-says\/"},"modified":"2023-11-28T06:42:05","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T06:42:05","slug":"trial-to-continue-in-adiala-jail-in-open-court-judge-hearing-cipher-case-against-imran-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/trial-to-continue-in-adiala-jail-in-open-court-judge-hearing-cipher-case-against-imran-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Trial to continue in Adiala jail in open court, judge hearing cipher case against Imran says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<p>Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain, who is hearing the cipher case against PTI Chairman Imran Khan, ruled on Tuesday that the trial proceedings would continue at the Adiala jail but in an open court.<\/p>\n<p>Citing \u201cserious security risks\u201d, Adiala jail authorities failed to present the former premier today before the special court at Islamabad\u2019s Federal Judicial Complex (FJC) as per the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1791756\">orders<\/a> of the same court\u2019s judge.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, Judge Zulqarnain had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1791756\">issued directives<\/a> that the PTI chief and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi be presented at the FJC.<\/p>\n<p>The cipher case pertains to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1769320\/leaked-cipher-hints-at-us-pressure-over-russia-visit\">diplomatic document<\/a> that the Federal Investigation Agency\u2019s charge sheet alleges was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1712744\">never returned<\/a> by Imran. The PTI has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1682104\">long held<\/a> that the document contained a threat from the United States to oust Imran as prime minister.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--right  media--embed  media--uneven\">\n<p>    <iframe class=\"nk-iframe\" onload=\"setInterval(()=&gt;{try{this.style.height=this.contentWindow.document.body.scrollHeight+'px';}catch{}}, 100)\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"height:400px;position:relative\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/card\/1791722\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The former premier and his aide Qureshi, who is also behind bars, were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1783241\/special-court-indicts-imran-qureshi-in-cipher-case\">indicted<\/a> in the case on Oct 23. Both have pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n<p>The trial was being held at Adiala Jail and four witnesses had already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1787431\">recorded<\/a> their statements, with the fifth being cross-examined when an Islamabad High Court division bench had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1791390\">termed<\/a> the government\u2019s notification for jail trial \u201cerroneous\u201d and scrapped the entire proceedings.<\/p>\n<p>As a result of the judgement, the special court would now start a fresh trial while the prosecution would have to file a fresh application to conduct the trial in jail.<\/p>\n<p>Police, administration and other departments concerned were to meet on Monday to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1792559\">finalise<\/a> a security plan for Imran\u2019s appearance. However, today, the Adiala jail authorities presented a report before the court, stating that the ex-premier could not be presented due to \u201cserious security risks\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--right  media--embed  media--uneven\">\n<p>    <iframe class=\"nk-iframe\" onload=\"setInterval(()=&gt;{try{this.style.height=this.contentWindow.document.body.scrollHeight+'px';}catch{}}, 100)\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"height:400px;position:relative\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/card\/1791488\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Today, Judge Zulqarnain presided over the hearing at the FJC, where Barrister Salman Safdar appeared as Imran\u2019s counsel while Advocate Ali Bukhari was present as Qureshi\u2019s lawyer. The FIA\u2019s prosecutors Shah Khawar and Zulfikar Abbas Naqvi also appeared before the court.<\/p>\n<p>During the hearing, the jail authorities submitted their report to the court, which Judge Zulqarnain reviewed.<\/p>\n<p>According to reports by intelligence agencies and the police, the PTI chairman faces life threats, the report stated. It further said, \u201cIt has been informed that the PTI chairman faces security risks of a serious scale\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Safdar urged the court to adjourn the hearing indefinitely and grant his client bail while Qureshi\u2019s counsel Bukhari requested the court to issue directives for his client to be presented before the court.<\/p>\n<p>After a brief while, the special court announced its order on the report submitted by the jail officials, approving the jail trial but saying it would be in an open court.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"the-hearing\" href=\"#the-hearing\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>The hearing<\/h2>\n<p>At the outset of the hearing, Safdar informed the court that there were \u201ctwo separate matters\u201d pending before the court for today.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had hoped that the PTI chairman would be presented before the court today but he has not been yet,\u201d the lawyer lamented.<\/p>\n<p>During the hearing, the jail authorities submitted their report to the court, which Judge Zulqarnain reviewed. The judge then said, \u201cThe jail officials are saying that he (Imran) cannot be presented.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to reports by intelligence agencies and the police, the PTI chairman faces threats to life, the report stated. It further said, \u201cIt has been informed that the PTI chairman faces security risks of a serious scale\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The jail officials then informed the court they had written a letter to the Islamabad police, requesting additional security. The police\u2019s report was also submitted to the court along with the jail\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Here, Safdar said it was the \u201cjail authorities\u2019 responsibility to present the suspect before the court\u201d and that they could not \u201cignore\u201d doing so. The counsel then read out aloud the Islamabad High Court\u2019s order wherein it had declared Imran\u2019s jail trial \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1791207\">null and void<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The lawyer stated that he had been requesting the court to \u201cfirst decide where the trial would be held\u201d but was asked whether there was a \u201cstay order whenever I said something\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHowever they do, they must present the PTI chairman [before the court] today,\u201d Safdar insisted. \u201cOn what intelligence agency\u2019s basis are they saying that there are threats to his life? When we used to say his life is in danger, we were told to reach anyways.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The counsel asserted that the IHC\u2019s and the special court\u2019s orders were being violated.<\/p>\n<p>The lawyer then read out the report, which stated that the capital police had written a letter to the jail officials, apprising them of security risks. He then asked why Qureshi was not presented yet as the letter was only limited to Imran.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf there are security threats, then please adjourn this hearing for an indefinite period. If the case cannot proceed in jail [and] they (jail officials) are not willing to proceed it here, then the suspect may be given bail,\u201d Safdar said.<\/p>\n<p>At this point during the hearing, Qureshi\u2019s lawyer Bukhari began presenting his arguments. He noted that Khawar, the FIA prosecutor, had \u201cread the jail superintendent\u2019s letter himself\u201d, and asked why his client had not been presented before the court.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNeither has any charge been framed yet, nor has any copy [of charge sheet] been distributed. Then why has he been kept inside [the jail]?\u201d the counsel asked.<\/p>\n<p>Bukhari then urged the court to issue directives for his client to be presented before the court, emphasising that it was \u201cnecessary\u201d to present the suspect in an open trial and a \u201clegal responsibility\u201d to do so.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is the court\u2019s responsibility to ensure the suspects\u2019 production before the court,\u201d he argued. \u201cIf court orders are not obeyed, you have the authority to send government officials to jail,\u201d the advocate said while addressing the judge.<\/p>\n<p>Judge Zulqarnain then said he would issue an \u201cappropriate order\u201d on the matter. He asked whether the court had summoned the suspects, to which an FIA prosecutor replied in the affirmative.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo matter how many notifications you bring, it does not matter. The public and the media should have access to the court,\u201d the judge observed.<\/p>\n<p>He then asked, \u201cI am using the word \u201cwish\u201d that whoever wishes to hear the case, can we allow them?\u201d At this, Barrister Safdar said, \u201cWho is the jail superintendent to decide on your behalf?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To this, the FIA prosecutor asserted that a jail trial could be held \u201cwhile fulfilling all legal requirements\u201d. He argued that the IHC had not declared the special court\u2019s proceedings \u201cillegal\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>He further said it was up to the court to decide where the trial would be held and how many people would be permitted inside the courtroom in the case of a jail trial.<\/p>\n<p>At this point during the hearing, Judge Zulqarnain said, \u201cIt does not matter to the court where the trial is held. The court wants that for those who want to attend the trial, what can be done for them?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain, who is hearing the cipher case against PTI Chairman Imran Khan, ruled on Tuesday that the trial proceedings would continue at the Adiala jail but in an open court. Citing \u201cserious security risks\u201d, Adiala jail authorities failed to present the former premier today before the special court at Islamabad\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/large\/2023\/11\/28101804c793ecb.jpg?r=101808","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-islamabad-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29203\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}