On Thursday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) consolidated the separate petitions filed by former prime minister Imran Khan, which were both petitions requesting a stay of the trial court proceedings in the cipher case or an outright dismissal of the case.



 The matter at hand concerns a diplomatic document that allegedly vanished from Imran's custody. According to the PTI, the document purportedly contained a United States threat to remove Khan from his position.

On August 5, 2023, the PTI leader was found guilty and received a three-year prison sentence in connection with the Toshakhana corruption case. After his transfer to Attock Prison, the IHC suspended his sentence. Nevertheless, Khan continued to be incarcerated due to his judicial remand in the cipher case.
The IHC granted Imran's petition to be transferred from Attock District Prison to Adiala jail in Rawalpindi on September 26.

The charge document, known as a challan, was filed in the Special Court established under the Official Secrets Act on September 30 by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). In it, former foreign minister and prime minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was identified as the principal defendant in the cipher case.

Imran has submitted multiple petitions to the IHC, one of which requests a stay of his prison trial in the cipher case, another which requests the suspension of the Toshakhana verdict, and a third which opposes his October 17 indictment in the cipher case.

Today, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq combined a supplementary petition requesting a suspension of Imran's trial in the cipher case with the primary petition, in which he requested that the case be dismissed and rescheduled for a hearing.

Senior attorney Sardar Latif Khosa represented Imran during the hearing and apprised the court that the petitions challenged the special court's order of indictment and sought a suspension of the trial court proceedings.

Additionally, he stated that the case was before the IHC and that a decision had been withheld. He added that the Lahore High Court had stayed a stay order in a case brought by the FIA.

Khosa reaffirmed his earlier admonition to the special court to "remain patient" while the issue was pending before the high court.

Further emphasizing his "manifest concerns" regarding the case's applicability of the Official Secrets Act, the attorney stated, "Plenty of concerns."

"Which confidentiality was breached or which security was compromised?" What difference did it make that Bhutto sahib made comparable remarks in his Raja Bazaar speech?

"The world recognizes and believes that my client is a national hero." "Currently incarcerated despite being innocent," Khosa maintained.

Subsequently, Justice Farooq inquired whether the distinct plea could be consolidated with the one petitioning for dismissal of the case. In response, Khosa consented, provided that the joint plea was resolved before October 17.

When asked by Justice Farooq what would transpire on October 17, the attorney responded, "On that date, October 17 would be fraught with great unhappiness." An ongoing trial is in progress. An indictment is scheduled to occur.

The chief justice then stated that he would conduct a review of the situation and issue an order, guaranteeing that the hearing of the petitions would occur before October 17.

Naeem Haider Panjutha, Imran's attorney, expressed regret over the postponement of the parole hearing for his client in the cipher case scheduled for today.

He stated in a post on X (previously Twitter) that the hearing was scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. but had not begun until at least 2:34 p.m. Even the previous hearing, he continued, began late, necessitating its adjournment.

 Elimination of objections to the submission against the indictment

In addition, the IHC dismissed objections to the plea that was submitted the day before and contested the indictment order issued by the special court on October 9.

Today, Justice Farooq also considered this petition, whereas Sher Afzal Marwat represented Imran and contended that his client had not accepted the case documents, despite the order indicating otherwise.

Additionally, Marwat claimed that the leader of the PTI had declined to receive the duplicates of the indictment challan (charge sheet), which contradicted the claim made by Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain.

In response to his impassioned plea for the court to eliminate the objections to the petition, Justice Farooq resolved to examine the regulations that had generated the objections and devise a method for their removal.

Marwat expressed regret that the special court proceeded with the prison trial without even awaiting the IHC's decision on the former premier's pleading guilty.

Following that, the IHC conducted a review of the court regulations and issued a directive to remove the objections to the plea.

Khan urges his followers to "hold on" and demands impartial elections.

Imran has reaffirmed his determination to remain in Pakistan "indefinitely" and to advocate for unbiased and unrestricted elections.

The ex-premier detailed his two-month incarceration in a message published today on his X (formerly Twitter) account. It was reported that his family received the message on Tuesday.

He described the initial few days as "extraordinarily difficult," adding that he was forced to slumber on the floor with "insects and mosquitoes" crawling all over him due to the lack of a bed. Nevertheless, he eventually adapted to the conditions of the prison, he continued.

"Let it be known that the Imran Khan of today and the Imran Khan who was incarcerated on August 5 differ as significantly as day and night." "At present, I am more robust and in good physical, mental, and spiritual condition than ever before."

He vowed that he would not "abandon the pursuit of Haqeeqi Azadi, which is to safeguard the Constitution of Pakistan and the rule of law, with free and fair elections as its foundation," adding, "I will not abandon my land to travel elsewhere."

Regarding the cipher case against him, the PTI leader claimed that former army chief general Qamar Javed Bajwa and Donald Lu "committed treason" against him and his government.

Irrespective of the arrests and legal proceedings initiated against a multitude of PTI leaders, Imran stated, "If there is one thing that trouble and distress me, it is the anguish endured by my employees who have been unlawfully detained, with particular concern for our female staff who have been confined for several months, by a select few individuals who exploit their authority for personal gain."

He implored his followers to "not give up," to continue demanding fair and transparent elections, and to continue speaking out against the "unelected predatory group and their facilitators in every forum."

In his concluding remarks, the chairman of the PTI declared that his party would "defeat all these parties (political opponents) combined" on the day of the elections. "Regardless of the extent to which these individuals deceive, their inevitable end result is defeat." Pakistan, specifically Zindabad.