The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday heard the former foreign minister and PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s petition challenging his cipher case trial in jail. The petition was heard by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq. During the hearing, the chief justice remarked that the court would summon different parties to the case and pass an order in a couple of days.The judge further remarked that he had already passed an order on the jail notification while hearing Sher Afzal’s case. “As a matter of fact, the trial court sees this matter. Anyhow, in your case, the court will seek answers from the parties concerned after summoning them,” the judge added. Advocate Syed Ali Bokhari appeared in the court on behalf of Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

 The lawyer said that they filed a plea in the trial court against the proceedings of the cipher case in jail. But the trial court ignored our petition without listening to us, the lawyer added. He argued that Qureshi’s name was not even mentioned in the notification of the jail trial. He further said that the former foreign minister did not even submit any petition in which he expressed security threats. He said that today the trial court has summoned them but the trial could not indict them. Qureshi told the court that his name was not included in the notification but he was needlessly screwed to the co-accused. He said he regularly appeared in court and never raised any security issues but still his trial was being held in jail.

 
Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)