The special court, operating under the Official Secrets Act, has designated state lawyers to represent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the ongoing cipher case.
Malik Abdul Rehman has been appointed to represent Khan, while Hazrat Younus will advocate for Qureshi, facilitating the cross-examination of witnesses.
During the recent hearing, Qureshi, dissatisfied with the proceedings, took the file from the state-appointed lawyer and slammed it against the wall.
Meanwhile, the counsels for both leaders, currently detained in Adiala jail, failed to appear in court for a petition filed by the prosecution seeking to revoke their right to cross-examine witnesses.
Special court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain had previously reserved the verdict on the plea. Special Prosecutors Zulfikar Abbas Naqvi and Raja Rizwan Abbasi were present, but the accused lawyers were absent.
Assistant lawyers Qamar Anayat Raja and Khalid Yusuf Chaudhary stepped in to represent the defence, with Raja explaining the absence of senior counsel Sikander Zulqarnain, who was undergoing dental surgery.
Despite concerns raised by Prosecutor Naqvi regarding repeated adjournments and inconvenience to witnesses, the court expressed frustration over the delays.
Subsequently, Prosecutor Abbasi accused the defence of intentional delays, prompting Judge Zulqarnain to instruct assistant lawyers to contact the absent senior lawyers and warn of proceeding as per the law if they failed to appear by the specified time.
After two deadline extensions, the court reserved its decision and adjourned the hearing to the next session.
