ISLAMABAD: A special court established under the Official Secrets Act has rejected the bail pleas of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and party’s Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case on Thursday.
Special court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain heard the bail applications and announced the verdict after hearing arguments from PTI’s counsels.
Earlier in the day, the same court confirmed the pre-arrest bail granted to former federal minister and PTI leader Asad Umar in the same case.
On August 22, the same court headed by Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain granted pre-arrest bail to Umar against a surety bond of Rs100,000.
The PTI Chairman Imran Khan was sent to jail on August 5 following his conviction in the Toshakhana case. On August 29, the IHC had suspended his sentence.
However, a special court had directed Attock jail authorities to keep him in “judicial lockup” in connection with the cipher case.
On Tuesday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) reserved its verdict on a petition filed by PTI chairman challenging the law ministry’s decision to conduct the trial in the cipher case at Attock jail.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq reserved the verdict on PTI chairman’s plea after hearing the arguments. The court had sought an explanation from the respondents on the notice.