Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain, responsible for addressing the bail pleas of former prime minister Imran Khan and PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case, has taken a leave of absence until September 8. His absence is due to his wife’s illness. When they arrived at the courtroom, this development was conveyed to the PTI’s legal team, consisting of lawyers Babar Awan, Salman Safdar, and Naeem Haider Panjotha.
Following this information, lawyer Safdar urged the court staff to reschedule the case hearing for Thursday. In a bid to expedite the process, the legal team sought the assistance of Judge Raja Javad Abbas, hoping he could preside over the bail plea.
However, Judge Abbas clarified his position as not the designated duty judge for cases about the Official Secrets Act, thus unable to facilitate the hearing. He emphasized that his jurisdiction as a duty judge covered 24 courts but did not extend to matters related to the Official Secrets Act. To move forward, he suggested that an application be filed to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to decide on the case proceedings, a proposal that lawyer Awan agreed upon.
Furthermore, Judge Abbas raised concerns about his court’s jurisdiction over the cipher case, generally reserved for a special court. Despite this, he promised to review PTI’s application at noon that day to ascertain the feasibility of his court handling the bail pleas.
It’s noteworthy that Judge Zulqarnain was recently appointed to preside over a special court established under the Official Secrets Act. This court is designated to review matters concerning the diplomatic cipher allegedly misappropriated and utilized for political manoeuvring by former PM Imran Khan, according to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The ongoing trial concerning the cipher case is being conducted in-camera.
