ISLAMABAD, Jan 11: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday withdrew its stay order on former premier Imran Khans in-camera cipher trial after the state counsel assured that the witnesses statements would be recorded afresh.
The cipher case pertains to a diplomatic document that the Federal Investigation Agencys charge sheet alleges was never returned by Imran. The PTI has long held that the document contained a threat from the United States to oust Imran as prime minister.
Last month, Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb had restrained the special court from proceeding against the suspects - including former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi - till January 11, noting that there were "legal errors" in the case.
The decision had come on Imrans petition challenging the trial - being conducted at Adiala Jail - and subsequent developments, including the framing of charges and a gag order on the media.
The Special Court (Official Secrets Act) had begun the cipher trial afresh last month at the Adiala district jail after Imran and Qureshi were indicted for a second time in the case on December 13.
The former premier and his aide Qureshi, who is also behind bars, were first indicted in the case in October. Both had pleaded not guilty. The IHC had termed the governments notification for a jail trial "erroneous" and scrapped the entire proceedings. —DAWN
