ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan will face criminal proceedings under the Official Secrets Act, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Wednesday, hours after the government claimed his ex-principal secretary had admitted Khan leaked a secret document last year to create a false narrative.
Khan, ousted via a parliamentary vote in April 2022, blamed the Pakistani parties that now form the government and Washington for colluding to remove him from power, allegations they both denied. At the center of the allegations was a cipher, based on a meeting between then Pakistani Ambassador to the US Asad Majeed and State Department official Donald Lu. Khan claimed the cipher proves that the US envoy sent a "threatening message" to his government.
According to the PM Shehbaz Sharif's government, Khan's ex-principal secretary, Azam Khan, recorded a statement before a magistrate under section 164 of the country’s Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and “confessed” that the US cipher conspiracy was a manipulative tactic used by the former pime minister to create a false narrative against the military establishment and his political rivals.
“Khan has hatched a conspiracy against the state’s interests and a case will be initiated against him on behalf of the state for the violation of the Official Secrets Act by exposing a confidential cipher communication from a diplomatic mission,” Sanaullah told reporters during a media briefing.
The development came a day after the Lahore High Court (LHC) removed a stay order preventing Pakistan’s anti-crime watchdog, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), from sending a call-up notice to Khan. The FIA is conducting an inquiry into an audio leak related to the cipher controversy.
There is no information on record about Azam Khan's whereabouts for over a month. Sanaullah did not disclose the magistrate's name before whom Azam Khan allegedly recorded his statement.
“I can assure you with full authority that the content of the statement is 100 percent true and that Azam Khan has issued his statement to satisfy his conscience with his free will,” the minister added.
The minister said that as per his information, Azam Khan was at his home with his family.
Arab News could not contact Azam Khan to verify the claim despite multiple attempts.
“Azam Khan's statement is an indictment and chargesheet against the former prime minister,” Sanaullah said. "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."
Sanaullah blamed Imran Khan for bringing about an economic crisis in the country and damaging Pakistan's foreign ties.
Referring to Imran Khan, the minister said making a classified document or a piece of information public and then taking it into one’s possession was "illegal".
He said Azam Khan, in his statement, claimed that the former premier was told to refrain from misusing the secret document and making it public, adding that it was a clear violation of the Official Secrets Act.
He said along with Khan, former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was also involved in the conspiracy and should face the law.
On a question relating to Imran Khan’s possible arrest, he said the FIA was already investigating the cipher issue and recent developments would become a part of the probe, along with other cases against the former prime minister that are being processed by the courts.
“Before the government, there are arguments in favor of arresting the former prime minister, then there are other arguments that he should be tried and convicted by the court first,” Sanaullah said, adding that the concerned law enforcement institutions would decide Imran Khan’s fate after the new developments in the case are taken into consideration.
Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has not responded to Arab News' queries on the allegations.
