FIA grills Imran Khan for two hours in ciphergate case

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In this file photo, former prime minister Imran Khan holds what he said was a cipher that is evidence of a foreign conspiracy to oust him from office during a rally in Islamabad in March 2022. Twitter/@MuzamilChangImran Khan left FIA headquarters after about two hours. A day earlier, the FIA ​​questioned Qureshi Mahgate on a concept two hours in advance. piracy.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Tuesday grilled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for nearly two hours in a case related to the cablegate saga, a cipher allegedly containing details of a threat by the US against the former government.

At a public gathering on 27 March 2022 in Islamabad, Khan brandished a letter claiming it was evidence of an international conspiracy backed by the United States to topple his government.

Last week, the probe agency summoned the ousted prime minister, who was removed from office via a no-confidence vote in April last year, today (Tuesday) after the Lahore High Court (LHC) withdrew a stay order against the FIA’s summoning of Khan over the audio leak involving the US diplomatic cable.

The FIA ​​initiated investigations against the former prime minister for allegedly publishing a confidential diplomatic cable and keeping it in his possession.

According to details, the PTI chief appeared before the joint investigation team of the federal investigating authorities at its headquarters. After nearly two hours of questioning, the ousted premier left the FIA ​​headquarters.

A day earlier, the FIA ​​questioned PTI vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi for nearly two hours in connection with its ongoing investigation into the controversial US cipher.

Qureshi appeared before an eight-member team headed by FIA Islamabad Zone Director Rana Abdul Jabbar after it summoned him as he is one of the central characters in the cipher saga due to his position as foreign minister during PTI’s tenure.

Officers from different FIA wings and a grade-19 officer each from three different intelligence agencies were also present during the PTI vice-chairman’s questioning.

The cipher drama took a new turn last week when former prime minister Khan’s then principal secretary Azam Khan “recorded” a statement labeling the US cipher as a “conspiracy” used by the former prime minister to “manipulate to create an anti-establishment and opposition narrative.”

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

Reacting 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.

PTI, however, termed the statement attributed to the former chief secretary about the US cipher conspiracy unverified and said it was a set of contradictions.

Cable port

The controversy first surfaced on 27 March 2022 when, days before his ouster, Imran released a letter which he claimed was a code from a foreign nation, which mentioned that his government should be removed from power.

He did not reveal the contents of the letter or name the nation that had sent it. But a few days later he named the United States and said Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu had sought his removal.

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

The former prime minister, who claimed to have read the contents of the cipher, said “all will be forgiven for Pakistan if Imran Khan is removed from power”.

On 31 March, the NSC took up the matter and decided to issue a “strong demarche” to the country for its “blatant interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs”.

Later, after his ouster, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called a meeting of the NSC, which concluded 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 following these events. Former Prime Minister, then Federal Minister Asad Umar and Azam were reportedly heard discussing the American cipher and how to use it in their interest.

On September 30, the federal cabinet took notice of the matter and set up a committee to investigate the contents of the audio leak.

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

When the FIA ​​was tasked to investigate the case, it summoned Imran, Umar and other leaders of the party, but the PTI chief contested the summons and secured an eviction order from the court.

On July 18, the Lahore High Court revoked the order suspending the summons to Imran from the FIA.

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

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