'Risk of deteriorating relations:' Gov't opposes open hearing of Pakistan's ex-premier's case

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Pakistan's key investigation agency on Monday told a court that an open trial of the country's jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a case that accuses him of exposing state secrets could pose a “risk of deteriorating relations with other countries.”

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) submitted its reply to the Islamabad High Court which is hearing Khan's bail plea in the "cipher case" related to a diplomatic document that reportedly went missing from the ex-premier's possession.

It came after Islamabad High Court's Chief Justice Aamer Farooq declared, last week, that Khan's bail application would be heard in an open court.

On Sunday, the FIA filed an application in the high court seeking in-camera proceedings of Khan’s bail plea in the cipher case.

Khan alleges that the document contained a threat from the US to oust him from office. Washington and Islamabad have rebuffed the allegation.

Following the suspension of his three convictions in a graft case by the Islamabad High Court last month, Khan has been languishing in jail on a judicial remand in the cipher case.

The post-arrest bail pleas of Khan, and his deputy Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a former foreign minister, were rejected by the trial court earlier this month, prompting the two to approach the Islamabad High Court for bail.

The FIA in its charge sheet has already declared Khan and Qureshi "principal accused" in the cipher case.

During the hearing, the prosecutor argued that the open-court trial could pose a risk of deteriorating relations with other countries.

Objecting to the plea, Khan's lawyer said the FIA's request contradicted its own stance that the ex-premier has already “made the cipher public.”

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court reserved its verdict.

Meanwhile, a two-judge bench of the Islamabad High Court on Monday set aside the trial court’s decisions to turn down Khan's bail pleas in nine different cases. Two trial courts had rejected his pleas for not joining the hearing.

Khan, who was ousted through a no-trust vote in April last year, is facing a string of cases, which he dubs as "politically motivated.”