ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will hear the appeals of the PTI founder and Shah Mehmood Qureshi against their conviction in the cipher case today (Wednesday).
A division bench, headed by Chief Justice Amer Farooq and including Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, will take up the appeals as it could not conduct any proceeding on Tuesday.
The court has sought reports from the Islamabad advocate general regarding the appointment of state lawyers and from the jail authorities regarding the visits of those lawyer to Adiala jail.
The PTI founder and Qureshi have challenged their convictions and their 10-year sentence each in the case.
The counsel for the PTI founder stated that the appellant along with co-accused Qureshi were tried under Sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, read with Section 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), 1860.
The appellant was arrested on Aug 15, 2023 and is aggrieved with the conviction and sentence awarded on Jan 30, 2024, by Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain, Special Judge (Official Secrets Act, 1923), Islamabad.
Also read: IHC to hear PTI founder, Shah Mahmood's pleas in cipher case
He submitted that the prosecution improperly documented evidence in violation of the mandatory provisions outlined in the Criminal Procedure Code 1898 and despite repeated objections raised by the appellant, the trial court refrained from intervening.