ISLAMABAD- the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday turned down the request of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan seeking directives to halt the jail trial in the cipher case.
A IHC division bench comprising Justice Mian Gul Hassan and Justice Saman Riffat heard the case on the plea moved by Imran Khan.
Barrister Salman Akram Raja representing the PTI chairman argued before the bench. He contended that their request pertained to challenging two distinct notifications issued by the Ministry of Law, dated June 27 and August 29. He argued that It was emphasized that the notification for the jail trial was issued by the federal government itself.
The counsel also argued that this was an administrative notification under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Islamabad, rather than the federal government.
Justice Mian Gul Hassan observed that there might be a possibility of a new bench when the file would be presented before the chief justice for marking.
“We cannot give you any temporary relief,” observed the judge. He also observed that the final decision on the admissibility of the request would also be made at the later stage. The judge further observed that the court would not compromise the established legal rules for the sake of any individual.
Later, the bench turned down the plea of the PTI chairman.
The bench remarked that currently they were addressing the objection of the Registrar office on the petition.
Salman Akram Raja told the court that the claim had been made that the jail trial was being conducted for the security of the accused. However, it was stressed that the accused was neither consulted nor had the accused expressed the need for the trial to be based on security concerns.
