Shortly before his imminent indictment in the Cipher Case, former PrimeMinister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan invoked hisprime ministerial immunity.
A formal request to this effect was submitted to the Islamabad High Court(IHC) on a Saturday. The IHC issued a one-page order on the matter, statingthat the petitioner, Imran Khan, argued that he enjoys immunity asstipulated in Article 248 of the Constitution.
Imran’s legal team also contended that the FIR did not apply Section 5 ofthe act to their client.
In response, the IHC directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) toprovide a response on Monday, just one day before the scheduled indictmentof Imran Khan and his Foreign Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
Imran stands accused of violating the Official Secrets Act (OSA) byallegedly retaining a copy of the cipher for political purposes. It’snoteworthy that this is the first instance of the former prime ministerseeking immunity in any case. Imran Khan is currently detained in AdialaJail, with his bail application in the Cipher Case awaiting adjudication.
Simultaneously, a Special Court established under the Official Secrets Actof 1923 is conducting his trial within the jail premises.
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Previously, the IHC had suspended his conviction in the Toshakhana Case andordered his release.
ARTICLE 248(1)
As per Article 248(1) of the Constitution, the President, a Governor, thePrime Minister, federal ministers, ministers of state, Chief Ministers, andprovincial ministers are not subject to legal action for their actions andfunctions while in office.