ISLAMABAD:
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) led joint investigation team (JIT) investigating the alleged manipulation of a confidential diplomatic cipher during the reign of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) met with senior PTI officials Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Asad Umar on Monday.
At 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Qureshi, vice chairman of the PTI and foreign minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to April 2022, showed up at the FIA headquarters in the nation’s capital. The PTI leader was questioned for close to two hours by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which consists of five FIA officials and three representatives from other intelligence agencies.
Party secretary-general Asad Umar, who resigned on May 20 in the aftermath of a government crackdown, showed up at the FIA’s headquarters around 12 p.m. Over the course of two hours, he was questioned by the JIT.
Ex-prime minister and current PTI leader Imran Khan has also been called to appear before the JIT today [Tuesday] at 12 noon.
It is carrying out an investigation at the federal cabinet’s request into allegations that former prime minister Imran, his associates, and his former principal secretary compromised national security and interest by disclosing a classified diplomatic cipher in an unauthorized manner.
The cipher telegram was allegedly utilized improperly and kept by them without permission.
Imran had pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and waved it at the crowd at a massive public meeting in Islamabad on March 27, 2022, before a vote of no-trust that ultimately led to his ouster, claiming it was evidence of a “international conspiracy” being hatched to topple his government.
In a news article titled “‘Political’ use of cypher may lead to 14 years in prison, says law minister,”
On March 31, 2022, the former prime minister addressed the country and spoke about the “threat letter” that supposedly revealed “evidence” of a foreign conspiracy to overthrow his government.
Then, seemingly accidentally, he implicated the United States as the source of the danger. “…the letter stated that the no-confidence motion was being tabled even before it was filed, which means the opposition was in contact with them,” he claimed.
He claimed the memo was directed at him personally and not at the government. If the vote of no confidence is approved, Pakistan would be forgiven, it said. If you don’t, there will be repercussions.”
At the time, Imran Khan said it was a “official letter that was communicated to Pakistan’s ambassador, who was taking notes during the meeting.”
Former PM Imran’s principal secretary Azam Khan allegedly testified against him in court on July 19, calling the US cipher a “conspiracy” that Imran utilized “for creating a narrative against establishment and opposition.”
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had said the “confession” of the former principal secretary was a “charge sheet” against the PTI president, Azam Khan, who had been absent for the past month.
Media interview with Qureshi
After being questioned, Qureshi addressed the media and insisted that the cipher is and always has been authentic. He noted that, while NSC meetings aren’t often convened to discuss diplomatic ciphers in general, two were held specifically to examine the one at issue.
Unfortunately, Imran Khan’s request for an impartial investigation of the cipher by a judicial panel under the supervision of the Supreme Court was not implemented, and the impression was generated that Khan planned to use the cipher for political gain.
“We also called a parliamentary session so that the nation could adopt a joint course of action on this issue,” he stated, “but the opposition parties boycotted it,” prompting the audience to speculate on how a prime minister of an honorable nation would have responded.
