Pakistan court to hold former PM Imran Khan’s trial behind closed doors

Imran Khan, gestures as he speaks to the members of the media at his residence in Lahore, Pakistan May 18, 2023. (Photo/Reuters)

A Pakistani court has announced that the trial of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his foreign minister will be held behind closed doors in a case that accuses them of exposing state secrets.

The announcement was made during the first hearing at a jail in the northeastern garrison city of Rawalpindi after Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi were re-indicted on Wednesday in the case commonly known as the “cipher case,” according to court records.

But Thursday, the Federal Investigative Agency urged Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain to allow “in-camera” footage in the courtroom, which he accepted. Zulqarnain ruled last month that the proceedings would continue at the Adiala Jail in an open court.

The court ruled before adjourning until Friday that the defendants’ families would be allowed to hear the proceedings.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) last month, declared the jail trial “null and void” but ruled that it is "unusual circumstances" and can be held, but proper procedure should be adopted.

The Cipher case

Khan and Qureshi were initially indicted in October in the cipher case, which was declared illegal by the IHC following annulments of the trial on November 21.

The case is related to Khan's comments about and waving of a confidential diplomatic letter at a rally after his ouster in a no-confidence vote in parliament in 2022. He and Qureshi are accused of communicating information in the classified letter to unauthorised people for political gain.

The document — dubbed Cipher — has not been made public by either the government or Khan's lawyers but was apparently diplomatic correspondence between the Pakistani ambassador to Washington and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad.

The case is related to diplomatic communications between Washington and Islamabad. Khan claimed the document was proof that his ouster was a US conspiracy, allegedly executed by the military and his political opponents, including his successor Shehbaz Sharif. Washington, Pakistan's military and Sharif have denied the claim.

Khan, who served as prime minister of Pakistan from 2018 - 2022, lost a vote of confidence in parliament in April 2022, one year short of completing his term.

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Source: TRT