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FIA grills Imran Khan in Attock jail over ‘missing cipher copy’

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  • JIT “meets former PM in the office of deputy superintendent of jail”.
  • Recently, reports emerge claiming JIT finds ‘material’ against Khan.
  • Retention of the cipher’s copy is an offence, according to sources. 

A joint investigation team (JIT) of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) interrogated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) incarcerated Chairman Imran Khan in a case related to the cablegate saga — a cipher what the deposed prime minister claims contains details of a threat made by the United States against his government, it emerged on Wednesday.

In a public gathering on March 27, 2022, in Islamabad, Khan brandished a letter claiming that it was evidence of an “international conspiracy” backed by the US to topple his government.

Last month, the probe agency had grilled the deposed prime minister — who was removed from office via a no-confidence motion in April last year — for nearly two hours in the case after the Lahore High Court (LHC) withdrew a stay order against the call-up notice to Khan by the FIA into the audio leak involving the US diplomatic cable.

The FIA launched investigations against the ex-prime minister for allegedly making public a confidential diplomatic cable and keeping it in his possession.

Earlier today, FIA’s Counter-Terrorism Wing registered a case in connection with the “missing cipher” from the official record of the Prime Minister’s Office and indicted Khan in the case, well-placed sources said.

They also confirmed that the JIT grilled Khan in Attock jail on Tuesday (yesterday). “The JIT met Khan in the office of the deputy superintendent jail,” according to FIA sources.

JIT finds ‘material’ against Khan

Last week, reports emerged that the JIT probing the cipher issue was nearing the conclusion of its findings but the latest publication of alleged content of the secret cable document in an online American news organisation has forced it to expand its investigation to cover the aspect of the leak to the media.

Informed sources said the JIT was keen to see how and who had leaked the document’s content to the media and whether the content of the cipher, as shared by The Intercept, is original or exaggerated.

These sources hoped that the probe would conclude within a week or 10 days.

Retention of the cipher copy by the former prime minister, the source said, is an admitted fact. It is an offence, the source said. Twisting and manipulation of the secret document for political gain is also a violation of the law, added the source.

The JIT, which was constituted by the former government, had already grilled Khan, Fawad Chaudhry, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, and Foreign Office officials.

It is said that the JIT may not need to grill anyone else.

Azam Khan ‘recorded’ a statement

Last month, the cipher drama took a new turn when former premier Khan’s then-principal secretary Azam Khan “recorded” a statement, terming the US cipher a “conspiracy” used by the ex-PM to “manipulate for creating a narrative against establishment and opposition.

Azam, who had been “missing” since June this year, recorded his statement under CrPC 164 before a magistrate, sources said.

The former bureaucrat, in his confession, said when he provided the ex-premier with the cipher, he was “euphoric” and termed the language a “US blunder”. The former prime minister, according to Azam, then said that the cable could be used for “creating a narrative against establishment and opposition”.

In response to the development, Imran termed Azam an “honest man” and said he would not accept the statement until he heard the bureaucrat say it himself.

The PTI, however, termed the statement attributed to the ex-principal secretary, on the US cipher conspiracy “unverified”, and said it was a “set of contradictions”.

Cablegate

The controversy first emerged on March 27, 2022, when Imran Khan — just days before his ouster — brandished a letter, claiming that it was a cipher from a foreign nation, which mentioned that his government should be removed from power.

He did not reveal the contents of the letter nor mention the name of the nation that had sent it. But a few days later, he named the United States and said that Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Donald Lu had sought his removal.

The cipher was about former Pakistan ambassador to the US Asad Majeed’s meeting with Lu.

The former prime minister, claiming that he was reading contents from the cipher, said that “all will be forgiven for Pakistan if Imran Khan is removed from power”.

Then on March 31, the National Security Committee (NSC) took up the matter and decided to issue a “strong demarche” to the country for its “blatant interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan”.

Later, after his removal, then-prime minister Shehbaz Sharif convened a meeting of the NSC, which came to the conclusion that it had found no evidence of a foreign conspiracy in the cipher.

Months later, two audio leaks took the internet by storm and shocked the public after these events. The former prime minister, then-federal minister Asad Umar, and Azam could allegedly be heard discussing the US cipher and how to use it in their interest.

On September 30, the federal cabinet took notice of the matter and constituted a committee to probe the contents of the audio leaks.

In October, the cabinet gave the green signal to initiate action against the former prime minister and handed over the case to the FIA.

Once the FIA was given the task to probe the matter, it summoned Khan, Umar, and other leaders of the party, but the PTI chief challenged the summons and secured a stay order from the court.

On July 18, the Lahore High Court recalled the stay order against the call-up notice to Imran by the FIA.

The FIA then again issued summons to Khan, Umar, and Qureshi.

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Imran Khan’s bail request in the Toshakhana-II case has had its objections dismissed.

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In the Toshakhana-II case, the Islamabad High Court has dismissed the objections to PTI founder Imran Khan’s bail request.

IHC instructed the registrar’s office to schedule the hearing for the case for Monday.

Imran Khan’s attorneys, Shaheena Shahab, Ayesha Khalid, and others, arrived in court today as IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the case.

The registrar’s objections to the plea were questioned by Justice Aurangzeb. In the Toshakhana-II case, Imran Khan submitted a bail application, according to counsel Ayesha Khalid.

Justice Miangul said that previous rulings in circumstances comparable to this one adhered to the consistency principle. In this instance, the petitioner was a man, he added.

Bushra Bibi was given bail because she was a woman, according to the justice, and an application like this one was denied yesterday.

Given that the case action date was November and the power of attorney was executed in July, Justice Aurangzeb raised a concern about the timing.

Justice requested the help of Advocate Shah Khawar in this case.

When an applicant was held in jail, Shah Khawar retorted that it was standard procedure to obtain signatures on required documents, such as a power of attorney.

Imran Khan’s attorney, Shaheena Shahab, asked the court to send out notices regarding the bail plea. A judge named Aurangzeb said that the law would be observed.

Following arguments, the court dismissed the registrar office’s objections and ordered that the case hearing be scheduled for Monday.

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PTI presents seven nominations to Imran Khan for the judicial commission.

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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has proposed seven individuals to its founder, Imran Khan, for consideration as founding members of PTI for membership in the next Judicial Commission.

None of the nominated individuals are attorneys; rather, the roster includes four Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) and three senators.

The proposed MNAs are Umar Ayub, Asad Qaiser, Ali Mohammad Khan, and Aamir Dogar, while the senators are Shibli Faraz, Mohsen Aziz, and Aun Abbas Bapi. Sources suggest that the Judicial Commission will include one opposition member from both the National Assembly and the Senate.

The PTI founder will evaluate and endorse two names from the suggested list, which will then be sent to the Speaker for future actions.

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Miller confirmed that Biden’s administration got a letter from a congressman requesting the release of the PTI founder.

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Following his removal as prime minister in 2022, Khan started a protest movement against a coalition of his enemies led by current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Since then, he has been in jail since August 2023 and has been involved in hundreds of cases.

In response to ARY News’ question over the congressmen’s letter during a media briefing in Washington on Monday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “We will respond in due course to the members.”

The United States wants to see Pakistan maintain its democracy, Miller stated.

The release of the PTI founder’s wife and sisters was a result of a meeting between the US Deputy Assistant Secretary and a Pakistani government representative in Islamabad, which was further questioned during the press briefing.

“I won’t be addressing that,” Miller said when asked if the United States was involved in their release. Miller did, however, affirm that the conference included the defense of Pakistan’s basic liberties and rights.

Sixty-two members of the US Congress urged President Joe Biden on October 24 to support the release of Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, and other political prisoners.

The congressmen, who included well-known Muslim members Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, said in their letter that the Biden administration should ask Pakistani authorities to guarantee the safety of PTI founder Imran Khan.

They also underlined that US policy should concentrate on Pakistan’s human rights situation and asked that US ambassadors attend the PTI leader’s incarceration.

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