Lu lied in cypher case testimony, claims PTI

Party demands ‘open trial’ of diplomatic cable case

LAHORE:

 

PTI leaders on Thursday claimed that US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu -- who a day earlier in his testimony in connection with the cipher controversy declared the allegations of party’s founding chairman Imran Khan that the Americans were behind his ouster in 2022 as a “complete falsehood” – was lying on the matter, demanding an open trial of the case.

Speaking to the media outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail where Imran is currently incarcerated, PTI stalwart Gohar Ali Khan maintained that what Lu had testified before a subcommittee of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs was a lie and demanded another inquiry into the matter.

The PTI leader said former Pakistani envoy to the US Asad Majeed -- the man at centre of the entire cipher controversy -- had admitted that he met with Lu as well as conceded that there was indeed a diplomatic cable.

He added that it was on Majeed’s request that a demarche was also handed over to the then acting US envoy.

The secret memo allegedly contained minutes of the meeting between the former Pakistani envoy and Lu wherein the latter had conveyed a “threatening” message that if the vote of no-confidence against Imran did not succeed, the country would have to face the consequences.

In his testimony, Lu said the then-ambassador of Pakistan to the US had told his government that there was no conspiracy.

During a lengthy hearing, Gohar highlighted that Lu spent merely a fraction of the time addressing the cipher issue, while diverting the conversation to other matters.

About the general elections on February 8, the PTI leader underscored Lu's assertion during the hearing that the US had never endorsed the polls in the country as “free and fair”.

Gohar further said he had held a meeting with Imran in jail earlier in the day and discussed the issue.

“Asad Majeed should issue his own statement on Donald Lu’s testimony yesterday,” he added.

The PTI leader noted that Lu had denied the content of the cipher and even the meeting with Majeed.

However, he continued that Majeed had submitted the content of the cipher to the court and confirmed that his meeting with Lu did take place.

Gohar said Imran’s sister Aleema Khan had also pushed for filing a case against Lu in the US but it was their family’s decision.

Also read: Lu sceptical about polls fairness

“We have complete confidence in our own courts,” he added.

The PTI leader further said Imran had predicted that current coalition government would not last for more than five months.

He continued that if Imran was released from jail, it would not be an outcome of any deal.

In a related development, PTI Secretary Information Raoof Hasan while addressing a news conference at the party’s central secretariat in Islamabad said Lu’s testimony had proven that the cipher did really exist despite his refusal to acknowledge its content and Imran had not lied about it.

He further said initially, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had denied its existence, but later acknowledged the violations of the Official Secret Act by initiating the cipher case even though the cabinet had declassified the document.

Hasan referred to the two National Security Committee (NSC) meetings convened to discuss the cipher, during which it was decided to issue a formal demarche to the US government in Islamabad and Washington.

“We have the minutes of the NSC meeting. Its participants conceded that there was evidence of significant interference in Pakistan's internal affairs.”

Hasan also pointed out that the content of the cipher was no longer confidential, having been published in the international press.

Speaking on the occasion, PTI leader and former Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister Khalid Khurshid highlighted the disparity between Pakistan's prohibition on discussing the cipher issue and the open US congressional hearing on the matter.

Calling for an open trial of the cipher case in Pakistan, Khurshid emphasised the need to investigate the circumstances under which a foreign diplomat purportedly threatened the country of grave consequences if its elected prime minister was not removed.

He expressed confidence in the judiciary's ability to deliver justice, maintaining that Imran was innocent despite his incarceration.