Ex-PM’s ‘missing’ top aide ‘emerges’ to sing like a canary

Azam Khan’s purported confessional statement says cypher narrative was fabricated by PTI chief

The diplomatic cypher saga plunged into a fresh acrimonious chapter on Wednesday after a purported “confessional statement” attributed to ex-principal secretary Azam Khan – dubbing it a ‘fabrication’ – landed on the political landscape with a thud, prompting the government to seize on what it called a “charge sheet” as the rationale for swift criminal proceedings against PTI chief Imran Khan.

The alleged “disclosures” from the former bureaucrat – whose whereabouts remain shrouded in mystery – were quickly followed by a presser of Interior Minister Sanaullah, who said the government will open criminal proceedings against former prime minister Imran Khan on charges of exposing official secrets.

Interestingly, the development fell hot on the heels of the Lahore High Court’s decision to allow FIA after it withdrew a stay order against the call-up notice to Imran by the agency in an inquiry into an audio leak relating to the cypher controversy. The court recalled the stay, allowing an appeal of the federal government challenging the stay secured by Imran.

Sharing the details of the purported confessions during the news conference, Sanaullah said that it was recorded by Azam before a judicial magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and Section 161 of the CrPC on the notices issued to him by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The statement said that a US diplomatic encrypted letter was manipulated by Imran in March 2022 to serve his political goals, the minister claimed and added that the principal secretary also testified that Imran told him he had lost the copy of the letter when he was asked for its return.

"It is a crime to expose an official secret," the interior minister said, adding the state will be filing the charges in the court against Imran. "I don't think he lost the copy. He still has it. It has to be recovered from him," he said. Imran said he did not believe his former secretary could testify against him. "I will not accept it as long as I don't hear it from him directly," he told reporters after a court hearing in another case.

The interior minister said a case would be registered against Imran and his accomplice former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi under the Official Secrets Act for making a classified document public. “Eventually he would have to appear before the court as his case would be tried in the special court.”

He shared with the media that Azam Khan reportedly admitted that he had told Imran that using a classified document for political gains was a criminal act under the Official Secrets Act, but the then-prime minister used the cypher to gain political mileage.

“That cypher is still in his custody and he will remain a criminal until he returns the classified document or it is recovered by an investigation agency from him,” he added. He further said the May 9 incidents were also in the continuity of the PTI chief’s conspiracy against Pakistan and its institutions as it had been proved that the group led by him was involved in anti-state activities.

“This group has also connections outside the country,” he said, adding it was now inevitable to punish them as per law.

It is pertinent to note here that a day earlier, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Horst had publicly defended Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu – the person Imran blamed for orchestrating the conspiracy against him— and said the allegations against him were “categorically false”.

“We have communicated this publicly and privately,” she said while referring to numerous statements from US officials in which they proclaimed neutrality in Pakistan’s charged political environment.

The PTI chief, who was deposed as premier in April 2022 through a parliamentary vote of no confidence, had accused Washington in March last year of orchestrating a plan to oust him. He had referred to the cypher in question as evidence for his claims.

Later the same year, the PTI chief shifted the blame from the United States to previous army chief General (Retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, saying he wished to mend fences with the former.

FIA issues notice to Imran

Hours after the interior minister’s press conference, the FIA issued another notice to Imran directing him to appear at its headquarters in Islamabad on July 25 (Tuesday).

The notice said a joint inquiry team was conducting a probe on the direction of the federal cabinet “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”.

As per the information and evidence available with the joint inquiry team, Imran, as the prime minister, was cognisant of facts pertaining to this probe. The notice also said that Imran failed to comply with two notices issued in the case to him earlier.

“Therefore, you (Imran) are once again noticed 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 required to answer such questions as may be put to you, pertaining to the probe, truthfully and honestly … You are further requested to bring along any/ all documentary evidence in support of your claim pertaining to the aforementioned matter,” the notice read.

The FIA warned Imran that his failure to comply with “this legal notice may entail that you have nothing to say in your defence” and ex parte action would be initiated against him on the basis of evidence available on record.