Imran Khan’s ex-secretary Azam Khan terms ‘cypher gate’ a preplanned conspiracy

Principal secretary to the fomer prime minister Azam Khan on Wednesday claimed that the ex-premier had “pre-planned” the US cipher drama in an attempt to gain political mileage, sources told news media on Wednesday.

Khan, who had earlier been “missing” since last month, had recorded his statement under the CrPC 164 before a magistrate.

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

Per the confession, the former premier also told Azam that the cipher could be used to divert the public’s attention towards “foreign involvement” in the opposition’s no-confidence motion.

The ex-premier told him [Azam] he would display the cipher in front of the public and “twist the narrative that a foreign conspiracy is being hatched in collusion with local partners and play [the] victim card. 

The confession further stated that the former premier kept cipher with himself in violation of the prevailing law.   

However, Azam Khan in his confession said that till the time he was former prime minister’s principal secretary, the cipher was not returned to the Prime Minister’s Office as the latter had lost the original document.