The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has recently extended the stay against the jail trial of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the cipher case until November 20.
The development occurred during a hearing where Imran Khan’s lawyer, Salman Akram Raja, requested an extension. Imran Khan, chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), is currently held in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi on judicial remand.
Supreme Court Petition for Post-Arrest Bail
The former prime minister has approached the Supreme Court (SC), seeking post-arrest bail in the missing cipher case. His plea calls for the apex court to overturn the IHC’s order in the cipher case and grant him freedom.
The cipher case revolves around an FIR registered on August 15 under the Official Secrets Act based on a complaint from the Home Secretary. Imran Khan, along with former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, former principal secretary Azam Khan, and former planning minister Asad Umar, were named in the report.
The FIR accuses them of distorting the facts of a diplomatic cipher and launching a conspiracy to misuse its contents for “nefarious purposes,” thereby endangering state interests.
