Imran Khan

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

Khan, who served as prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to April 2022, is accused of misusing the contents of the cipher to build a narrative that his government was ousted due to a conspiracy hatched by the US, a charge denied by Washington.

Khan and several of his party leaders have been facing numerous cases since the ouster of the party from power in April 2022 and later in the wake of the May 9 violence.

Khan, 71, and his close ally ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, 67, were on Monday indicted by the special court on charges of leaking state secrets, in another blow to the jailed leaders who could now face a possible death sentence.

A disagreement between Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif's men escalated into a full-blown physical fight on live television.

Cricket is often defined as a game with three departments- batting, bowling and fielding. A fourth aspect, however, does not get talked about is captaincy.

Special court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain, who heard the bail applications of Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, announced the reserved verdict after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party counsels completed their arguments.

In his letter to CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja, President Alvi cited Article 48(5) of the Constitution, which he said: "empowers and mandates the president to appoint a date not later than 90 days from the date of the dissolution, for the holding of a general election to the Assembly".

During an in-camera hearing, Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain of the Islamabad ATC-1, who was recently appointed as a judge of a special court handling cases under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, was informed by the prosecution that Khan had challenged both the special court’s jurisdiction and his jail trial in the IHC.

A division bench comprising Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri announced the much-anticipated reserved verdict.

The Toshakhana case was filed in October 2022 by the Election Commission of Pakistan, which had earlier disqualified Khan for concealment of assets. Khan was arrested from Lahore on the same day he was convicted and transported to Attock city and lodged in its district jail.

The fast-paced political drama is linked with the army chief Asim Munir’s attempt to take control of running the country.

Hassaan Khan Niazi, who had been in hiding since the protests of May 9 and 10, was arrested by the police from Abbottabad on August 13.

The five-year tenure of the lower house of the Parliament is ending on August 12 but it is likely to be dissolved on August 9 by Prime Minister Sharif who will send an advice to President Arif Alvi, a former leader of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. In case the president dithers, the assembly would be dissolved within 48 hours of advice given by the premier.

The two have a contentious past, with Khan going out of his way to sideline Munir. However, with Shahbaz Sharif’s government bringing him back into the fold, the Pakistani Army chief is determined to dismantle Khan’s party, the Pakistan Terik-e-Insaf, after it repeatedly provoked the Army.

Former Pakistan prime minister Khan, 70, was arrested from his home here on August 5 shortly after an Islamabad trial court found him guilty of “corrupt practices” in the Toshakhana corruption case and sentenced him to three years in jail, which automatically disqualified him for five years from holding any public office.

The verdict came a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) set aside a session court's verdict to uphold the maintainability of the Toshakhana case for criminal proceedings against Khan.

Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan in the next few weeks and indications suggest that he will also take charge of the PML (N) parliamentary election campaign.

Talks are being held to agree on a caretaker head who will look after the interests of the two major ruling alliance partners..

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) also issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against former Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry for the same offence.