On Monday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) reserved a verdict on former prime minister Imran Khan’s petition challenging the Law Ministry’s decision to hold his trial in Attock jail in a cipher case.
The deposed prime minister — in judicial custody until September 13 in the cypher case — filed a plea in the IHC against the law ministry’s notification through his counsel, Sher Afzal Marwat.
Khan has been imprisoned since his conviction in the Toshakhana case on August 5 for failing to declare gifts he received while in office properly.
The IHC had overturned a lower court’s decision to jail him for three years with an Rs100,000 fine — a judgment that kept him from contesting upcoming elections — he remains behind bars due to his judicial remand in the cypher case.
In his petition, the PTI chief requested to turn down the notification as it was “illegal” to shift the court to Attock jail.
After hearing the arguments today, IHC Chief Justice Farooq reserved the verdict on the plea challenging the ministry’s notification. The court had sought an explanation from the respondents on the notice.
Munawar Iqbal Duggal told the court that the cypher’s hearing in Attock jail was a one-time permission.
“The hearing on the case was held in [Attock] jail on August 30,” he said, adding that the ministry had also issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) regarding the holding of trial in the prison.
