FIA grills Imran over ‘missing’ cipher

TAXILA: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) again interrogated detained PTI chief Imran Khan in Attock Jail on Saturday in a case related to a diplomatic cable that reportedly went missing from his custody.

FIA sources said a six-member joint investigation team, led by FIA Deputy Director Ayaz Khan, met Mr Khan in the office of the jail’s deputy superintendent and interrogated the former prime minister for over an hour.

Earlier, FIA’s counter terrorism wing registered a case over the cipher, which reportedly went missing from the official record of the Prime Minister’s Office, sources said.

The cipher in question was the same document Mr Khan waved last year in an Islamabad rally days before the ouster of his government, describing it as proof of a US-backed conspiracy to remove him from power because of his stance on Russia.

Last month, on July 25, Mr Khan appeared before a joint investigation team formed to probe the cipher case.

Mr Khan has been under increased scrutiny following the publication of a purported copy of the secret cable by a US news outlet, with many in the previous government pointing fingers at the PTI chief for being the source of the leak.

The FIA was initially investigating Mr Khan for revealing the contents of a confidential diplomatic cable and keeping it in his possession. However, after former principal secretary Azam Khan disclosed that the cipher went missing from the custody of Imran Khan, the investigation agency also started looking into this aspect.

According to his statement, Azam Khan had handed over the cipher to the former premier, who later told him he had misplaced it and did not return it despite repeated requests.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2023