Islamabad (Web Desk): The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday reserved a verdict on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former premier Imran Khan's plea challenging his trial in Attock jail in a cipher case.
The PTI chief, who is in judicial custody till September 13 in the cipher case, filed a petition in the IHC against the law ministry's notification through his counsel Sher Afzal Marwat.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq presided over the hearing of the case.
During the hearing, PTI's lawyer Sher Afzal Marwat read out the notification issued by the law ministry.
He then proceeded to question the laws under which the ministry had allowed for the trial to be shifted to Attock jail.
“The chief commissioner or the interior secretary do not have the authority to transfer a trial to another province,” he said, adding that the move to shift the hearing of the case to Attock jail was prompted by “malice”.
Marwat said that the purpose of the notification issued for changing the venue of the hearing was to keep Imran in Attock jail.
The lawyer said that it has not been revealed so far that under which laws this notification was issued.
He maintained that only the Supreme Court has the authority to transfer the trial from Islamabad to another province,” he reiterated.
Marwat added that Islamabad was an autonomous territory and did not come under the jurisdiction of any province.
"The process for changing the venue of a hearing was clearly stated in the law," he said, adding that the consent of the relevant judge was also required to do so.
He said that after the IHC suspended Imran’s three-year sentence in the Toshakhana case, he could not have been kept in Attock jail.
The lawyer stated that there was no reason to keep the PTI chief incarcerated at Attock jail, adding that the former premier had been granted bail in the Toshakhana case.
Additional Attorney General (AAG) Munawar Iqbal Duggal informed the court that the cipher's hearing in Attock jail was a one-time permission.
Duggal told the court that the hearing on the case was held in jail on August 30.
He added that the ministry had also issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) regarding the holding of trial in the prison.
The IHC CJ then asked about the process for conducting a trial in jail.
At this, Prosecutor Zulfiqar Abbas Naqvi said that the trial of the cipher case was not currently ongoing.
The prosecutor stated that the ministry had issued the notification in accordance with the law.
After hearing the arguments, the court reserved the verdict in the petition.
Imran Khan was sent to jail on August 5 after he was convicted in the Toshakhana case.
On August 29, the IHC had suspended his sentence. However, a special court had directed Attock jail authorities to keep him in “judicial lockup” in connection with the cipher case.
Later the law ministry designated Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain as the judge of the special court to try suspects under the Official Secrets Act.
In his petition, the former chief requested the court to declare the notification null and void as it was "illegal" to shift the court to Attock jail.