Originally scheduled for Tuesday, the Islamabad High Court was set to hear Imran Khan’s plea for an open trial. However, an error by the IHC staff led to the petition being listed before a single-member bench. Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb pointed out the mistake, and the case file was sent to the IHC chief justice for the formation of a division bench.
The corrected listing is now slated for a hearing at 12:30 pm on Wednesday. Meanwhile, a trial court conducted proceedings for the Toshakhana and £190 million cases within Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail on Tuesday. In the Toshakhana case, four prosecution witnesses were cross-examined, and due to the absence of Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, the indictment was deferred until January 19.
Imran’s lead counsel, Barrister Latif Khosa, raised concerns about the challenging conditions faced by lawyers, journalists, and the accused family members attending court proceedings inside the Rawalpindi jail. He criticized the “humiliating process” of body searching and highlighted the lack of heating and insufficient lighting in the jail courtrooms.
Khosa expressed regret over the declaration of such proceedings as an open trial and accused the accountability court judge of rushing to conclude the trials. He emphasized the need for those claiming an open trial in jail to witness the hearings and lamented that the IHC staff’s error delayed the PTI’s petition against Imran’s prison trial on Tuesday. Khosa noted that an IHC stay order could affect the incumbent trial court judge’s ability to hear the cases.