Imran's lawyer challenges Cypher, Toshakhana sentences in Islamabad High Court
Feb 16, 2024
Islamabad [Pakistan], February 16 : Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan's lawyer, Barrister Ali Zafar, filed separate petitions before the Islamabad High Court against the former's sentences in the Toshakhana and cypher cases, according to Dawn.
The Toshakhana plea made the state and the accountability bureau respondents and urged the IHC to "suspend the execution of the conviction and sentence" imposed on Imran.
In the petition filed by Imran's lawyer, the state and Interior Ministry Secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar were made respondents in the case, according to Dawn.
It further urged the high court to set aside the conviction and sentence and acquit him of the charges.
It further contended that the trial court passed the judgement in a hurry, without providing the suspect an opportunity for a fair trial, Dawn reported.
Earlier, on Friday, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the vice chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and a former Foreign minister, moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against his conviction in the Cypher case, ARY News reported.
On January 30, a special court constituted under the Official Secrets Act sentenced Imran and Qureshi to ten years in prison in the cypher case.
According to sources, Qureshi filed a plea against the cypher case conviction, urging the IHC to declare the trial court's January 30 decision null and invalid.
The plea said the trial in the cypher case was not conducted in accordance with the law, and that the process was breached during the trial, which began on August 15 last year, according to ARY News.
The cypher case involves a diplomatic document that, according to the Federal Investigation Agency's charge sheet, was never returned by Imran Khan.
The PTI claimed that the paper included a threat from the US for Imran to depose as prime minister.
Imran and Qureshi have been on trial at Adiala Jail since last year for 'distorting' the facts of the diplomatic cypher case. Both PTI leaders were accused of conspiring to abuse the cypher's contents for 'nefarious reasons'.
An Accountability Court (AC) in Pakistan last month, sentenced Imran and his wife Bushra Bibi to 14 years in jail in the Toshakhana case.
The judge also slapped a fine of Pakistani rupee (PKR) 787 million. The PTI founder and his wife were also disqualified from holding any public office for ten years.
