LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday sought reply from PTI chairman Imran Khan by July 18 on an appeal of the federal government against a stay order issued against an inquiry initiated by FIA into the cipher controversy audio leak against Imran Khan.

The LHC, on December 6, 2022 had suspended a call-up notice issued to Imran Khan by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the cipher inquiry.

Earlier, a law officer argued that the FIA has summoned the former prime minister in the inquiry initiated with lawful authority.

He said the former premier secured stay order against the call-up notice issued by the FIA after concealing the facts. He said the court also passed the impugned order without hearing the point of view of the government. He therefore asked the court to withdraw the order in question.

The PTI chairman through a counsel contended that the FIA initiated the inquiry into the alleged audio leak pertaining to the diplomatic cipher received from a foreign country.

He said the impugned notice by the FIA was silent about any criminal wrongdoing committed by the petitioner. He, therefore, asked the court to set aside the impugned call-up notice by declaring it being issued without jurisdiction and also quash the inquiry.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023