On Tuesday, a special court in Islamabad issued an order instructing Attock Jail authorities, where the former Prime Minister is presently incarcerated, to keep PTI Chairman Imran Khan in judicial lockup regarding the cipher case.
This order followed shortly after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended Imran Khan’s three-year sentence in the Toshakhana case earlier in the day. In a communication addressed to the Attock Jail superintendent, the special court mandated jail authorities to present Imran Khan on August 30th in connection with the cipher case. The letter stated, “That accused Imran Khan Niazi, son of Ikramullah Khan Niazi, resident of Zaman Park, Lahore, is hereby ordered for judicial remand in the case FIR mentioned above, who is already detained in district jail, Attock.”
It is noteworthy that both PTI Chief Imran Khan and party leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi were named in an FIR registered on August 5th under the Official Secrets Act. Previously, the verdict had been reserved following the completion of arguments from the respondents. Regarding the Toshakhana case, the IHC issued a short verdict, ordering the release of the PTI chairman on bail from Attock Jail. The court indicated that it would provide the reasons for suspending the sentence in a detailed verdict at a later time.
Imran Khan had challenged the cessation of his right to a defense by the trial court in the Toshakhana case in the Islamabad High Court. He requested the high court to invalidate the trial court’s order and restore his right to defense in the case, urging immediate consideration of his petition. In the Toshakhana case, the District and Sessions Court had, on August 5th, sentenced the PTI chairman to three years in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 100,000.
Furthermore, the court declared the former Prime Minister ineligible to hold public office for five years. The court’s verdict had found Imran Khan guilty of corrupt practices, specifically for deliberately submitting false details of Toshakhana gifts to the Election Commission of Pakistan. Consequently, he was handed a three-year jail sentence and a five-year ban on holding public office.