An Islamabad accountability court on Tuesday sought details from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) if a notification had been issued for a jail hearing of the Al-Qadir Trust case against former prime minister Imran Khan.
The PTI chairman was first arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust case on May 9, which led to violent protests countrywide. He was released two days later after the Supreme Court deemed his arrest unlawful.
In August, the PTI chief was jailed after he was convicted in the Toshakhana case. Although his sentence was suspended on Aug 29, Imran remained in jail because he was on judicial remand in the cipher case.
While Imran is already imprisoned in Adiala Jail in the cipher case, he was also put under arrest yesterday by the NAB in the Al-Qadir Trust case and the Toshakhana reference.
Today, Judge Mohammad Bashir presided over the hearing. At the outset of the proceedings, he asked the NAB prosecutor when he planned to present the former premier before the court.
He also inquired whether Imran was still in jail or had been shifted to NAB’s office, to which the prosecutor answered that it was not in his knowledge.
Judge Bashir then ordered the prosecutor to inquire about the matter and also if there had been a notification issued regarding the jail trial of the former prime minister.
When reporters, who were in the courtroom inquired about the case, the judge replied that only NAB could tell where the PTI chairman would be presented. When asked about the jail trial, the judge observed that if a notification for the same had been issued, the hearing would be held in Adiala jail.
Judge Bashir also asked if the reporters would go to the jail for coverage, to which they replied that they were not allowed to enter the jail for reporting.
At this, the judge remarked, “There should be permission. This is why open courts exist. If there is a jail trial, then we will also do something about you all. Can’t we give [reporters] any [entry] pass, etc?”
The reporters agreed they should be given access to cover trial proceedings while the judge noted, “This is the benefit of an open court that whatever the witness is saying, everyone can hear for themselves.”
Trial court to record witness testimonies in cipher case
Meanwhile, the special court presided over a hearing of the trial proceedings against Imran and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case.
The cipher case pertains to a diplomatic document that the Federal Investigation Agency’s 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.
The former premier and his aide Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who is also behind bars, were indicted in the case on Oct 23. They have pleaded not guilty.
The IHC has endorsed Imran’s indictment, disposing of his plea against the same, but had also instructed the special court judge to ensure a “fair trial”.
In the previous hearing, the special court had recorded the statements of three prosecution witnesses in the cipher case.
Today, Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain presided over the hearing, which was conducted at the Adiala district jail.
Prior to the hearing, the PTI leaders’ legal teams and relatives as well as the FIA’s team reached the jail.
Barrister Salman Safdar, Umair Niazi, Sikander Zulqarnain and Khalid Yousuf Chaudhry appeared as Imran’s counsels while Barrister Taimur Malik and Faiza Shah were among Qureshi’s lawyers.
Zulfiqar Abbas Naqvi and Shah Khawar were among the prosecutors who appeared before the trial court.
Limited family members of both the accused were allowed to attend the hearing today as they were permitted to do so during the previous hearing.
The former foreign minister’s daughters Gauhar Bano and Mehr Bano, as well as the ex-premier’s sisters Aleema Khan, Dr Uzma Khanum and Naureen Khanum, reached the Adaila Jail to attend the hearing.
Both the PTI leaders were present in the courtroom, where the testimonies of the state witnesses would be recorded and the defence counsels would present their arguments.
from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/S7vq1x5
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