IHC orders open court hearing of Imran's bail plea in the cypher case.

ISLAMABAD -- The Islamabad HighCourt (IHC) rejected on Wednesday theFederal Investigation Agency's (FIA) peti tion to hold in-camera proceedings ofousted premier Imran Khan's bail plea inthe cypher case.IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq hadreserved his decision on the FIA's pleaearlier this week.

Announcing the verdict, the court saidthat the matter will be heard before anopen court. The documents which are tobe kept confidential will remain so afterconsulting with the counsels, said CJFarooq.

The court fixed the bail application forhearing on October 9.The cypher case concerns a diplomaticcable, which reportedly went missingfrom Imran's possession. His party, thePakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) hadclaimed that the cypher contained a threatfrom the United States to remove Imranfrom the Prime Minister's Office.Imran was ousted through a vote of no confidence in April 2022. He has beenarrested twice since, with the secondarrest made on August 5, 2023, after a district and sessions court sentenced him to three years in prisonin the Toshakhana case. The sentence was later...