Former prime minister and founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan said on Tuesday that Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who had been serving as foreign minister, learned of the diplomatic cipher “by chance,” and that it was meant for General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who had served as commander of an army.
In an interview with reporters conducted at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, he asserted that the cipher issue had been suppressed because it might have implicated US diplomat Donald Lu.
In an official meeting over Donald Lu’s speech, Pakistani ambassador Asad Majeed reportedly suggested demarche; nevertheless, it is now being claimed that no plot existed. This contradicts what Imran asserted.
There was no need to express demarche to the US since the cypher contained no information. “Is the United States ever demarched?” he asked.
While the PTI was in power for three and a half years, no country was demarched, according to Imran. He did note, though, that following the cypher incident, PTI members began to defect.
He asserted that an Intelligence Bureau (IB) investigation had also verified that Raja Riaz and other members had begun visiting the US embassy following the issue’s emergence.
“In October 2021, Bajwa secretly paid Husain Haqqani $35,000 to tweet that Imran is anti-America and Bajwa is pro-America. It was a complete surprise to us.”
Claiming that PML-N President Shehbaz got full backing from Bajwa, Imran stated that the case against Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, and her father was distinct because they were both disqualified.
Fearing that they may once again avoid the elections, hardly one is showing up to their rallies. In his opinion, the date of February 8 must be set for the elections.
According to the ex-prime minister, veteran lawmaker Javed Hashmi knows the establishment is against him and has been in prison.
To clarify, PTI founder Chaudhry Nisar Ahmad Khan said, “He is a 50-year-old friend who was invited to join PTI in April 2018, but Chaudhry Nisar is still Chaudhry Nisar.”
“If Chaudhry Nisar talks about joining us, Vigo Dala will reach his house to pick him up.”
He went on to say that the fight was part of a “freedom movement,” and that he worshipped throughout his incarceration as a symbol of this cause.
Imran warned that party candidates who do not participate actively may have their tickets changed and asked his party candidates to begin a peaceful election campaign next Sunday.
The leader of the PTI also accused the government of obstructing their election campaign.
