ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Wednesday that the reported confession of ex-principal secretary Azam Khan was a “charge sheet” against PTI chief Imran Khan.
His remarks came as an alleged confession of Azam, Imran’s principal secretary when he was prime minister, surfaced on social media wherein he claimed that the narrative behind the cipher — which the PTI chief has for long presented as evidence of a “foreign conspiracy” to oust him from the top office — was fabricated.
Interestingly, the development comes a day after the Lahore High Court (LHC) withdrew a stay order against the call-up notice to Imran by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in an inquiry into an audio leak relating to the cipher. At the same time, a senior US official also publicly defended Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu, who was blamed by Imran for orchestrating the no-confidence vote that led to his ouster.
At the outset of the press conference in Islamabad, Sanaullah said Azam’s statement was a “charge sheet against Imran Khan Niazi”.
“It shows who conspired against this country and its institutions and played a game for his personal and political interest while damaging the country’s interests. On the one hand, he pushed the economy into a crisis and on the other, damaged the country’s foreign ties,” he maintained.
The minister said this person had “committed a crime” for which he should be “punished at all costs as those who played with the country’s interests have confessed their crime”. And former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was also “fully involved in this crime”, he added.
Elaborating on the alleged crime, he said, “Making a classified document or a [piece of] information public and then taking it in one’s possession — no person is legally eligible to have it (cipher) in their custody”. The minister also likened the case to proceedings initiated against former US president Donald Trump on allegations of mishandling classified documents.
He further alleged that while “Imran told Azam that the cipher had gone missing, my assessment is that he (Imran) still has it”.
“So the cypher is with him. He has not just committed the crime of making it public, but he continues to be guilty of a crime by keeping it in his possession until he is arrested in this case and the cypher is recovered,” the minister said.
During the press conference, the interior minister was also asked about whether a case against those involved in the alleged conspiracy would be registered under Article 6 (high treason) of the Constitution.
“The law department’s opinion would be the final [decision] on this, but I think the Official Secrets Act is more relevant [in this case],” the interior minister said.
“Nevertheless, this is a punishable crime — to conspire against the country, expose a secret document and use it for your own interests and to damage the country’s interest and then to steal it, take it in your possession — this is a clear crime under the Official Secrets Act and it should be prosecuted.
“A punishment should be meted out over this and the [cipher] should be recovered,” he said.
Asked whether this case would also be referred to a “special court” as others being conducted under the Official Secrets Act, he replied in the affirmative.
“Yes, this case will definitely be referred to a special court,” he said emphatically.
Responding to a question about the PTI chief’s arrest in various cases against him, Sanaullah said, “Whether he is arrested first or gets convicted by the court, either of these decisions could be made”. Meanwhile, investigations against him in various cases were being conducted in which “evidence is also being collected and he is also being prosecuted”.
He also clarified that action in the case pertaining to the cipher would be limited to Imran, Qureshi any other of their “political associates” possibly involved in the matter.
The then-foreign secretary and Azam were not involved in “exposing the cipher, keeping it in their private possession and playing it up,” and hence, no action would be taken against them, he explained.
Imran says Azam is ‘honest man’
While the PML-N praised the alleged confession as evidence of wrongdoing, the PTI stood firm on the “existence” of the cipher.
Responding to reporters’ queries after appearing for a hearing at an Islamabad court, the PTI chief said, “Azam Khan is an honest man. Until I hear it from his mouth, I will not accept any statement.”
PTI’s Farrukh Habib responded to the development by alleging that Azam was first abducted, after which “all law enforcement and investigative agencies” denied having him in their custody.
“Today, suddenly news emerges that [Azam Khan’s] statement has been recorded to the magistrate under [Section] 164,” Habib said.
“Any statement recorded during kidnapping or under torture and pressure has no legal status.” He further said that a “drama and lie” was being run as the incumbent government “could not compete with Imran’s popularity”.
PTI leader Shahbaz Gill — who currently represents the party in the United States — recalled the demarche sent by the National Security Committee (NSC) chaired by Imran in response to the cipher after declaring it as “serious interference” in Pakistan’s internal affairs.
In another tweet, he said, “By the way, the statement for Section 164 is recorded before the magistrate. The police have said that they do not have Azam Khan.”
“Has Azam Khan been kidnapped by the magistrate?” he asked.
Meanwhile, the PML-N’s official Twitter account hailed the development by claiming that Azam’s statement “confirms […] Imran Khan is a fraudster!”
