The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has kept the public in anticipation as it reserved the verdict on the intra-court appeal filed by Imran Khan, Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), challenging his jail trial in the cipher case. A division bench, consisting of Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz, concluded the hearing and reserved the verdict, set to be disclosed around 5:30 pm today.
During the proceedings, Justice Aurangzeb noted that a concise order on the appeal would be revealed today, with a more detailed order to follow.
This legal battle stems from a hearing on November 14 when the high court temporarily halted Imran Khan’s jail trial in the cipher case. The PTI chairman currently resides in Adiala jail, having been indicted by special court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain. The IHC’s intervention came after the caretaker federal cabinet greenlit the jail trial of Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the case.
Imran Khan’s previous attempt to challenge the jail trial, rejected by the court’s single bench on October 16, led to the subsequent intra-court appeal. IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, in a prior ruling, asserted that there was no apparent malice behind conducting Khan’s jail trial in the cipher case, directing him to pursue further action if reservations persisted. The final decision now rests with the impending verdict from the division bench.
