Pakistan court halts Imran trial in cipher case till January 11 over 'legal errors'

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad high court halted on Thursday former Pakistan PM Imran Khan's ongoing trial in the cipher case under the pre-Partition Official Secrets Act till January 11, saying there were "legal errors" in the litigation.
Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb's decision was on a plea challenging Imran's indictment, proceedings in the case, and the gag order linked to the alleged leak of state secrets.
Imran's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has long held that the so-called cipher, a diplomatic cable sent to Islamabad from Washington by former envoy Asad Majeed in March 2022, contained an alleged threat from the US to oust the then PM from office.
The special court constituted under the 1923 Official Secrets Act had started the cipher trial afresh last week at the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi after Imran and his party's deputy chief, former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, were indicted for a second time in the case on December 13.
The jailed PTI leaders were first indicted in the case on October 23. On December 22, Pakistan's apex court granted post-arrest bail to Imran and Qureshi.
At the start of Thursday’s hearing, Justice Aurangzeb sought to know why in-camera proceedings were being held when the court had ordered an open trial.
Despite his repeated attempts, the judge pointed out, neither the prosecution nor the trial court judge understood what an open trial meant. "The law being used dates back to when Pakistan did not exist. In fact, it wasn't even an Indian law,” he said, adding that the world was unaware of human and fundamental rights in 1923.
"This case is the first impression in front of us … the judiciary has to examine it," the judge said.
Before adjourning the hearing, Justice Aurangzeb issued a stay on Imran's in-camera trial.
Imran, 71, has been slapped with dozens of cases, including corruption, terrorism and blasphemy, since he was removed from government in April 2022 through a parliamentary no-trust vote. He has contested the charges as being politically motivated.