Pakistan: Islamabad Court revokes stay order in cypher case trial, declares proceedings after Dec 14 null and void

Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) revoked the stay order in the cypher case trial on Thursday. The court declared all proceedings after December 14 null and void, Pakistan-based The Express Tribune reported.
Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the appeal against the in-camera trial of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in the cypher case. The IHC had stopped the hearing of the case till January 11.
During the hearing on Thursday, Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder's lawyer Salman Akram Raja appeared in court, The Express Tribune reported.
After Mansoor Usman Awan presented the arguments, Salman Akram Raja said that the proceedings after the December 14 order should be declared null and void as the order was incorrect.
Justice Aurangzeb told the AGP that if he wanted the proceedings to start again, then he should do it from the date the order was passed. He said a relevant order will also be issued in this regard.
Mansoor Usman Awan assured to start the proceedings again. He further said that the witnesses were willing to have their statements recorded again. Later the court annulled all the proceedings of the cypher case trial after December 14 and cancelled the stay order.
On December 14, a special court hearing the cypher case had accepted the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) plea seeking an in-camera trial of Imran Khan and his co-accused, Pakistan's former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. The plea was accepted despite the Islamabad High Court's earlier order calling for the trial to be heard in open court.
Notably, the controversy over the cypher started after Imran Khan publically displayed a paper during a rally in Islamabad on March 27, 2022, calling it an "international conspiracy" before a vote of no-confidence led to his government's ouster in April, 2022.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) started its probe into the cypher case on July 19, 2023 following the previous coalition government announced an official inquiry against Imran Khan and his close associates for violating the OSA, according to The Express Tribune report.
Following his conviction in the Toshakhana case by a local court of Islamabad, Imran Khan was arrested on August 5. Later, he was also arrested in the cypher case on August 29, The Express Tribune reported.
According to the challan papers, Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi were charged under sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act. These provisions include the possibility of the death penalty or life imprisonment. Previously, the cypher trial had started inside the Adiala jail. However, the IHC division bench later annulled all the proceedings, ordering a fresh open court trial.