Islamabad High Court reserves judgement on jail trial of Pakistan's former PM Imran Khan

Islamabad: A two-member panel of Islamabad High Court on Tuesday reserved the judgement on an intra-court appeal by Pakistan’s former premier Imran Khan against his jail trial in the cipher case.

A single-judge bench of the same court had earlier turned down the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman's appeal against his trial in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

The 71-year-old former premier has been kept in the Adiala Jail since September 26 when he was shifted there from the District Jail in Attock.

The IHC panel of justices Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Saman Rafat Imtiaz heard the intra-court appeal and reserved the judgment after completing the hearing process.

The panel is expected to announce its judgment at 5:30 pm on Tuesday.

The cipher case is about the allegations that Khan and his foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi March last year violated the secret laws of the country while handling a communication sent by Pakistan's embassy in Washington.

The duo was indicted on October 23 and their formal trial has already begun with the recording of statements by witnesses.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had upheld the indictment when challenged by the cricketer-turned-politician.

However, the IHC had stayed the trial until adjudication on the intra-court appeal.