World
Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan grilled in Attock Jail in missing cypher case: Reports
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan was interrogated by counter-terrorism officers from the Federal Investigation Company on Saturday on the Attock Jail within the cypher case beneath the Official Secrets and techniques Act, in line with media stories.
Khan, 70, is at the moment serving a three-year jail time period after he was sentenced by a court docket in a corruption case earlier this month.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman’s interrogation comes days after he was booked beneath the Official Secrets and techniques Act for making the content material of a confidential diplomatic cable from the nation’s embassy within the US public.
The counter-terrorism wing (CTW) of the FIA on Saturday started interrogating the incarcerated former prime minister within the “lacking” cypher case beneath the Official Secrets and techniques Act, The Specific Tribune newspaper reported.
The FIA staff interrogated the PTI chief for over an hour on the Attock Jail, the place he’s at the moment lodged, and inquired concerning the whereabouts of the lacking cypher copy.
The staff arrived at Attock jail round 2:15 pm and continued to grill Khan till 3.30pm after which returned to Islamabad, the report mentioned, quoting sources.
The investigation company had registered the case in opposition to Khan and PTI vice chairman and former international minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, after ascertaining their deliberate involvement in misusing the cypher and its misplacement following a probe, Samaa TV reported.
Qureshi, a detailed aide of Khan, was arrested by police from his home right here on August 19, and through Saturday’s interrogation, Khan was questioned concerning the former’s revelations.
Citing the cypher, Khan has been alleging the US of hatching a conspiracy to topple his authorities. He had brandished the cypher at a public rally to again his claims. The US has again and again denied such allegations, terming them “categorically false”.
The purported cypher contained an account of a gathering between US State Division officers, together with Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu after which Pakistani envoy Asad Majeed Khan.
The cricketer-turned-politician got here beneath elevated scrutiny following the publication of a purported copy of the key cable by the US media outlet The Intercept, with many within the earlier authorities led by Shehbaz Sharif pointing fingers on the PTI chief for being the supply of the leak.
Former inside minister Rana Sanaullah has mentioned that if Khan had certainly misplaced the copy of the cypher supplied to him, it will represent a criminal offense beneath the Official Secrets and techniques Act.
Citing the cypher, The Intercept, in a report revealed earlier this month, mentioned, “The US State Division inspired the Pakistani authorities in a March 7, 2022, assembly to take away Imran Khan as prime minister over his neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
The publication, nonetheless, additionally acknowledged it made in depth efforts to authenticate the doc, however “given the safety local weather in Pakistan, impartial affirmation from sources within the Pakistani authorities was not doable”.
The US State Division had mentioned it couldn’t confirm the authenticity of the doc.
The cypher case in opposition to Khan turned severe after his principal secretary, Azam Khan, acknowledged earlier than a Justice of the Peace and the FIA that the previous premier had used the US cypher for his ‘political beneficial properties’ and to avert a no-confidence vote in opposition to him final yr.
Khan was ousted from energy in April final yr after dropping a no-confidence vote in his management, which he alleged was a part of a US-led conspiracy concentrating on him due to his impartial international coverage selections on Russia, China and Afghanistan.
Khan, 70, is at the moment serving a three-year jail time period after he was sentenced by a court docket in a corruption case earlier this month.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman’s interrogation comes days after he was booked beneath the Official Secrets and techniques Act for making the content material of a confidential diplomatic cable from the nation’s embassy within the US public.
The counter-terrorism wing (CTW) of the FIA on Saturday started interrogating the incarcerated former prime minister within the “lacking” cypher case beneath the Official Secrets and techniques Act, The Specific Tribune newspaper reported.
The FIA staff interrogated the PTI chief for over an hour on the Attock Jail, the place he’s at the moment lodged, and inquired concerning the whereabouts of the lacking cypher copy.
The staff arrived at Attock jail round 2:15 pm and continued to grill Khan till 3.30pm after which returned to Islamabad, the report mentioned, quoting sources.
The investigation company had registered the case in opposition to Khan and PTI vice chairman and former international minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, after ascertaining their deliberate involvement in misusing the cypher and its misplacement following a probe, Samaa TV reported.
Qureshi, a detailed aide of Khan, was arrested by police from his home right here on August 19, and through Saturday’s interrogation, Khan was questioned concerning the former’s revelations.
Citing the cypher, Khan has been alleging the US of hatching a conspiracy to topple his authorities. He had brandished the cypher at a public rally to again his claims. The US has again and again denied such allegations, terming them “categorically false”.
The purported cypher contained an account of a gathering between US State Division officers, together with Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu after which Pakistani envoy Asad Majeed Khan.
The cricketer-turned-politician got here beneath elevated scrutiny following the publication of a purported copy of the key cable by the US media outlet The Intercept, with many within the earlier authorities led by Shehbaz Sharif pointing fingers on the PTI chief for being the supply of the leak.
Former inside minister Rana Sanaullah has mentioned that if Khan had certainly misplaced the copy of the cypher supplied to him, it will represent a criminal offense beneath the Official Secrets and techniques Act.
Citing the cypher, The Intercept, in a report revealed earlier this month, mentioned, “The US State Division inspired the Pakistani authorities in a March 7, 2022, assembly to take away Imran Khan as prime minister over his neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
The publication, nonetheless, additionally acknowledged it made in depth efforts to authenticate the doc, however “given the safety local weather in Pakistan, impartial affirmation from sources within the Pakistani authorities was not doable”.
The US State Division had mentioned it couldn’t confirm the authenticity of the doc.
The cypher case in opposition to Khan turned severe after his principal secretary, Azam Khan, acknowledged earlier than a Justice of the Peace and the FIA that the previous premier had used the US cypher for his ‘political beneficial properties’ and to avert a no-confidence vote in opposition to him final yr.
Khan was ousted from energy in April final yr after dropping a no-confidence vote in his management, which he alleged was a part of a US-led conspiracy concentrating on him due to his impartial international coverage selections on Russia, China and Afghanistan.
