ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court has summoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan today, Tuesday, in a case in which he is accused of leaking state secrets, in what would be the first public appearance in months for the jailed ex-premier.

Khan, who is the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has been in jail since August when he was convicted in a separate case involving the failure to disclose assets earned from the sale of state gifts while he was PM from 2018-2022. Khan is also accused in a number of other cases, including what has come to be called the cipher case, in which he has been indicted for leaking official secrets and using them for political gains.

The government had announced in August that the trial in the cipher case would be held in jail for “security reasons,” and a special court had since been conducting the trial on the prison premises, with no members of the public or media allowed. Last week, however, the Islamabad High Court declared the confidential proceedings illegal.

Public hearings in the matter began last Thursday at the Judicial Complex in Islamabad, but Khan did not appear and the case was adjourned until Nov. 28, with the court directing the ex-premier, and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who has also been indicted in the case, to appear in person on that date.

“As far as court orders are concerned, he [Khan] is supposed to be produced in court tomorrow [Tuesday] along with vice chairman PTI [Qureshi], however still no security arrangements methodized,” the PTI said in a text message to reporters. “Very unlikely they’ll produce Chairman PTI Imran Khan in court tomorrow despite strict orders by the higher court.”

Khan, arguably the most popular politician in the country, has not been seen since he was arrested in August. Before that, he would regularly address his millions of followers via social media and hold massive public rallies and protest marches. 

The cipher case relates to an alleged diplomatic correspondence between Washington and Islamabad that Khan says was proof that his ouster as PM in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in April 2022 was part of a US conspiracy to remove him. Washington has repeatedly denied Khan’s accusations.

A special court was formed on Aug. 21 under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, to adjudicate the case through in-camera proceedings. Khan and Qureshi were indicted in the case last month.

Last week, the Pakistan government also approved Khan’s jail trial in a separate case of a £190 million settlement with a property tycoon.

Khan is currently being held at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail where he is serving a three-year jail sentence.