The court's decision comes as part of the ongoing hearing of Khan's bail plea, which contested the special court's prior ruling in the case.
ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Sept 17th, 2023) Islamabad High Court issued a notice to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) concerning Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan's request for post-arrest bail in the cipher case.
The court's decision came as part of the ongoing hearing of Khan's bail plea, which contested the special court's prior ruling in the case.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan had filed this plea over the weekend, and it was scheduled for today's hearing.
The special court, operating under the Official Secrets Act, had previously rejected bail requests from Khan and PTI's Vice Chairman, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, related to the missing cipher.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq issued these notices in response to the plea filed by lawyer Salman Safdar, who represents PTI's chief.
Khan's legal team had been advocating for an expedited hearing, prompting the IHC Chief Justice to stress the need to adhere to the established legal procedure.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has been instructed to provide a response to Imran Khan's petition.
Both Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi are currently on judicial remand in the cipher case until September 26.
Last month, the FIA had charged PTI's leader and his party's vice chairman under the Official Secrets Act, alleging the mishandling and misuse of classified documents for political gain.
The cipher controversy initially arose on March 27, 2022, when Imran Khan, just days before his removal in April 2022, revealed a letter claiming to be a cipher from a foreign nation, suggesting the removal of his government from power.
The letter's content and the sending nation were initially withheld but later identified as the United States.
Khan accused Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Donald Lu of seeking his removal.
The cipher related to a meeting between Pakistan's former ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed, and Lu.
The situation escalated when the National Security Committee (NSC) took notice of the matter on March 31, 2022, deciding to issue a strong protest to the foreign nation for interfering in Pakistan's internal affairs.
After Khan's removal from office, his successor, Shehbaz Sharif, convened another NSC meeting, which concluded that there was no evidence of foreign conspiracy in the cipher.
