Legal uprising: Islamabad High Court rejects gov’t bid for jail trial of former Pakistani PM Khan

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday canceled a government order that had authorized former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s jail trial in the cipher case. This case has gained notoriety due to Khan’s alleged state secret leaks.

The IHC announced its verdict on an intra-court appeal filed by Khan, relating to his jail trial in the cipher case. This verdict now invalidates the notifications that Pakistan’s Law Ministry had issued on August 29, 2023, which had allowed only one day to conduct the hearing in jail. However, it was extended, and further notifications were issued.

The IHC stated in its short judgment that “the notification issued on August 29 was illegal under Section 352 of the Criminal Procedure Code, had no legal standing, and was not issued with the appropriate constitutional authority. There are prerequisites, and the administration hasn’t met them in this respect.”

On Aug. 29, the IHC suspended Khan’s sentence in the state gifts case, but a special court established under the Official Secret Act directed prison officials to keep Khan behind bars.

Also of significance is that following the approval of the federal cabinet, the government approved the jail trial of the cipher case due to security issues.

Earlier, the IHC had reserved its verdict on Khan’s intra-court appeal.

The proceedings were conducted by a division bench of the IHC, comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz.

According to an IHC written order: “In exceptional circumstances and where it is conducive to justice, a trial can be conducted in jail in a manner that fulfills the requirements of an open trial or a trial in-camera, provided it is in accordance with the procedure provided by law.”

The Media Line has a copy of the IHC decision.

New charges added

Since then, the government has charged Khan with disclosing state secrets and exploiting them for political gains.

Pursuant to the Official Secrets Act of 1923, a special court was established on Aug. 21 to try the case through in-camera proceedings.

Before the case’s initial hearing could take place on Aug. 29, the law ministry declared that the trial would take place in a jail setting because of “security concerns.” Since then, all of the case hearings have taken place in jail, with no access to the public or media.

The legal team representing Khan opposed the government’s decision to hold a jail trial due to concerns that he would not get a fair trial.

Khan, who led the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party, also pleaded in the IHC, where he was rejected by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq.

In his ruling, Farooq said that “there was apparently no malice behind the government’s decision to hold the jail trial.”

Consequently, Khan’s legal team then filed an intra-court appeal against the decision, which led the IHC to issue a stay order against the prison trial.

Barrister Salman Akram Raja, Khan’s senior lawyer, argued that “if the general public, media, and family members of the accused intended to witness the proceedings of the cipher case, they should be permitted.”

Raja requested the IHC to hold an open court trial for the cipher case.

The cipher case centers on an alleged diplomatic exchange between Washington and Islamabad, which Khan claims is evidence of US involvement in a plot to depose him from the office of prime minister after he lost a vote of no confidence in Parliament in April 2022.

Khan, a politician-turned-legendary cricketer, along with his close aide, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the country’s former foreign minister, are both behind bars.

They were indicted on Oct. 23 in the cipher case, and both have pleaded not guilty.

During a public rally last year, Khan waved a letter to the crowd, claiming it was a cipher from the US that called for the end of his government.

The former prime minister claimed that the cable, which he made public, was proof that he was removed from power as part of a US-led conspiracy backed by Pakistan’s powerful establishment and corrupt politicians.

Khan and his former foreign minister are charged with using the cable for political gain and violating official secrets.

Washington has repeatedly denied Khan’s accusations.

In a separate case, Khan was found guilty in August of failing to declare assets received from the sale of state goods while serving as prime minister, and he is presently serving a three-year jail sentence in Rawalpindi.

Experts believe that the IHC’s decision is a massive blow to the country’s powerful establishment and other anti-Khan forces.

Inam Ul Rahim, a prominent Rawalpindi-based lawyer who served as a lieutenant colonel in a legal branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, told The Media Line: “Today’s judgment has generated several glitches for the government. Lawfully, the government may reissue a notification and explain why the last one did not comply with all legal criteria; nevertheless, if this happens, the notice will be legally contested in court once more.”

In response to The Media Line’s questions, Rahim confidently claimed that the Supreme Court’s chief justice, Qazi Faez Isa, has made changes to ensure that “nowadays, it is very difficult to make a bench of one’s own will and make arbitrary decisions. Faez Isa has full faith in ensuring the rule of law.”

Rahim also said, “Justice Qazi Faez Isa is among the numerous judges who still uphold the supremacy of the Constitution and resist every type of pressure.”

Adeeb Uz Zaman Safvi, a Karachi-based political analyst, told The Media Line: “The Islamabad High Court’s decision is likely to have significant implications for his political rivals who wish to see him behind bars.”

“The decision could potentially weaken the grounds for his imprisonment,” Safvi added.

Safvi further told The Media Line that the “immediate impact is a legal one; the decision is likely to reverberate in the political arena, influencing the narratives and strategies of both Imran Khan and his political rivals.”

Raja Tanveer Akhter, a senior lawyer at Pakistan’s Supreme Court, told The Media Line that “Khan’s party workers will surely gain courage and fresh confidence as a result of the High Court’s ruling.”

Akhter claimed that “the cipher case is a politically motivated case which has no legal status. The previous coalition regime hastily made amendments to the Secret Act with the sole purpose of derailing Imran Khan.”

According to Akhter, “following the Islamabad High Court’s ruling, the trial procedures will be repeated in public, the charges will be reframed, and witness testimony will be recorded once more, as per the court order.”

Meanwhile, Aleema Khan, Imran Khan’s sister, emphasized that her brother has been the target of a cipher case whose only goal is to sentence him to death. She spoke to journalists outside the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.

She said that her brother “still believes that toppling his government was a conspiracy against Pakistan. Donald Lu, the US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, and the former chief of army staff for General Bajwa were involved in it.”

Aleema vowed that “a case against Lu will be soon filed in the United States.”