A purported “confessional statement” attributed to ex-principal secretary Azam Khan, who has since called the statement a “fabrication,” landed heavily on the political landscape on Wednesday, prompting the government to use the so-called “charge sheet” as the basis for swift criminal proceedings against PTI chief Imran Khan.
Interior Minister Sanaullah held a press conference shortly after the alleged “disclosures” from the former bureaucrat, whose whereabouts remain unknown, in which he announced that criminal proceedings would be opened against former prime minister Imran Khan on charges of exposing official secrets.
The move came shortly after the Lahore High Court allowed the FIA to investigate the leak of an audio file related to the cypher dispute, after the court rescinded a stay order against the FIA’s call-up notice to Imran. The court lifted the stay, clearing the way for the federal government to appeal its challenge to Imran’s successful stay application.
Sanaullah revealed at the press conference that Azam’s alleged confessions were recorded before a judicial magistrate in accordance with Section 164 of the CrPC and Section 161 of the CrPC on the notices issued to him by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The minister stated in his testimony that Imran twisted an encrypted letter from the US diplomatic mission in March 2022 for his own political gain, and he added that the principal secretary testified that Imran claimed he had lost the copy of the letter when he was asked to return it.
The interior minister stated, “It is a crime to expose an official secret,” and that formal charges would be filed against Imran by the state. It’s unlikely that he misplaced the backup. And he’s still got it. He answered, “It needs to be retrieved from him.” According to Imran, his ex-secretary would not be able to testify against him. After a hearing in another case, he told reporters, “I will not accept it as long as I do not hear it from him directly.”
The interior minister announced that charges would be filed under the Official Secrets Act against Imran and his co-conspirator, former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. The special court would eventually hear his case, therefore he would have to appear there.
He told the media that Azam Khan had revealed that he had warned Imran that misusing a cypher to advance his political career was a violation of the Official Secrets Act, but that Imran had ignored his warnings.
“Until he returns the classified document or it is recovered from him by an investigation agency, he will remain a criminal,” he continued. It had already been shown that the group led by the PTI chief was engaged in anti-state operations, so he went on to say that the events of May 9 were a continuation of that conspiracy.
He claimed, “This group also has connections outside the country,” and that legal punishment was now unavoidable.
It’s worth noting that the Assistant Secretary of State Imran accused of orchestrating the conspiracy against him, Donald Lu, had his Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Horst publicly defend him and call the allegations against him “categorically false” the day before.
“We have communicated this publicly and privately,” she said, pointing to the many declarations made by US officials declaring their impartiality in Pakistan’s volatile political context.
The PTI leader, who lost his position as premier in April 2022 due to a vote of no confidence in the legislature, claimed that the United States government was behind his removal from office as early as March of that year. He had mentioned the cipher in question as proof of his statements.
Later that year, PTI chief General (Ret.) Qamar Javed Bajwa attempted to patch things up with the US by declaring that former army chief General (Ret.) Qamar Javed Bajwa was to blame.
Imran receives notice from the FIA.
The FIA re-issued Imran a summons to appear at its Islamabad headquarters on Tuesday, July 25 (hours after the interior minister’s news conference).
The notice stated that, at the direction of the federal cabinet, a joint inquiry team was conducting an investigation “regarding the charges of prejudicing the national security and interest of the state by directly revealing, without proper authorisation, the classified information by the former prime minister, Imran Khan, his political associates, and the then secretary of the prime minister through a cypher telegram, its subsequent misuse, and unauthorised retention.”
According to the data and evidence collected by the joint inquiry team, Prime Minister Imran knew what was going on with this investigation. The document further stated that Imran had previously ignored two notices related to the case.
Therefore, Imran, you are hereby notified once again to appear (in person), on Tuesday, July 25, 2023 at 12pm, at FIA headquarters G-9/4, Islamabad without fail, before the joint inquiry team and bring along all information/documents (believed to be within your custody/domain) with respect to the cipher telegram.
“You may be asked to respond truthfully and completely to any questions that may be asked of you in connection with the investigation… In addition, the notification asked that any relevant documentation that could back up their claim be brought along.
In the event that Imran did not respond to “this legal notice,” the FIA threatened to take “ex parte action” against him based on the evidence already in their possession.
