A special court on Wednesday extended Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s judicial remand in the cypher case till September 26.
The special court – newly formed to hear cases related to the Official Secrets Act, 1923 – Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain conducted the hearing of the cypher case inside the Attock Jail where the former prime minister is currently lodged.
Qureshi was also produced in court Wednesday following the completion of his 14-day judicial remand.
Imran has been imprisoned in jail since his conviction in the Toshakhana case on August 5 for failing to properly declare gifts he received while in office.
A day earlier, during the hearing of the former premier’s plea in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) challenging the cypher case trial inside the Attock Jail, his lawyer raised the question that under what law the case was transferred from the federal capital territory to Attock in Punjab.
While the IHC had dismissed a lower court’s decision to jail him for three years with a Rs100,000 fine, Imran remains behind bars due to his arrest in the cypher case.
The FIA had officially arrested the deposed prime minister in the cypher case last month after booking him under the Official Secrets Act. It transpired on Monday that ATC-I Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain will hear all cases registered anywhere in the country under the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
These trials will be held in-camera.
The Ministry of Law and Justice on June 27 appointed Judge Zulqarnain as the ATC-1 Judge. In view of the ministry’s notification, the IHC on July 3 directed the judge to join his new assignment till December 8, 2025.
According to the IHC notification, Judge Zulqarnain will also try the cases reported under the Official Secrets Act, 1923 “until further orders.” The joint investigation team (JIT) completed its investigation into 14 cases related to the May 9 violence and found the PTI chief guilty in 10. The JIT completed a 2,000-page challan (indictment) in the main case against Imran.
