FIA to conduct criminal probe into Imran’s audiotapes about ‘cypher’: minister

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Monday said a criminal investigation would be carried out into the recent audio leaks of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan regarding the diplomatic cypher.

Addressing a news conference in Islamabad, she said the FIA would investigate without any political interference.

The Information Minister said the PTI chairman had confessed his crime of playing with the cypher in the audio leaks. She said Imran Khan then in an interview also admitted that he had lost the copy of the cypher.

Aurangzeb said it was not a political matter but of national interest and the Constitution, and it would be dealt with legally. She regretted that Imran Khan compromised national interest and violated the Official Secrets Act for his political interests. She said that the matter would be taken to a logical conclusion.

She said the “whole conspiracy and drama” of Imran Khan stood exposed before the masses.

“If Imran Khan is calling the institutions as watchmen, then the watchmen are the protectors of national defence and national security, not of his chair and power,” she said.

She further said Imran Khan’s entire politics was based on support. “They are still looking for support but that is not coming anywhere, they want institutions to break their oath and become part of their game.”

The minister said that for the past two months, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had done record work regarding floods in the country.

“Friendly countries alongside armed forces, provincial governments, the NDMA, and the civil society have fully supported Pakistan in the flood situation for which we are grateful to them,” she added.

She said that during the prime minister’s recent visit to the United Nations General Assembly and the SCO, all attention was focused on floods. She said that joint surveys had been started in the flood affected areas in collaboration with the local governments.

Aurangzeb said that on the one hand, the prime minister was currently busy day and night in rescue and relief activities for the flood victims, while on the other hand, a person who was in charge of the prime minister’s chair for four years in the country, what he had been doing was exposed through his audio leaks. She said Imran Khan was involved in conspiracies against national security. She said the first audio leak of Imran Khan came out on September 28.

The former prime minister was in fear of losing his chair, so he waved a paper in the rally on March 27. The “whole game” of his external conspiracy has been exposed now. In this audio leak, the former prime minister is repeatedly saying that we have to play with this cypher.

The Federal Minister for Information said the cypher came on March 7, which was received by the Foreign Office on March 8. On March 9, a copy of the cypher was ordered from the Prime Minister’s House. She said that in the audio leak, Imran Khan said the date on this is earlier. The Federal Minister for Information said that why did Imran Khan not tell the nation about the cypher received on March 7 that there was a conspiracy against him.

Aurangzeb said that Imran Khan waved that paper on March 27 because the no-confidence motion against him was succeeding and his allies were deserting him.

She said Imran Khan was a “thief, corrupt and incompetent”, and he destroyed the country’s economy, dealt with Kashmir wrongly and created chaos in the country. She said that in the audio leak, Imran Khan was saying that we have to play with this cypher and not take the name of America.

Imran Khan changed the minutes of this cypher, used the word conspiracy in it. She said there was another audio leak of Imran Khan on September 30 in which it was mentioned about calling a meeting, in this audio leak it was talked about calling the foreign minister, foreign secretary and three or four ministers and preparing the minutes of this cypher.

Aurangzeb said Imran Khan violated the constitution for his personal interest. She said Imran Khan kept his political opponents in jails for four years, filed fake references against them in the courts, used the entire state power, and created a nexus with the NAB.

She said Imran Khan viewed the sensitive issue of national security as politics, it was a matter of national security and constitution and law, Imran Khan had viewed cypher as politics, regarding Imran Khan’s audio leaks in the cabinet.

A detailed briefing was held. She said that under the Secrecy Act since the cypher cannot be public, Imran Khan pretended to play a game by changing this cypher in minutes. She said that Imran Khan had not denied his two audio leaks, he had confessed.

She said Imran Niazi put political opponents in jails, used Tayyaba Gul’s video, blackmailed the NAB chairman and formed NAB-Niazi nexus. She said there was evidence against Imran Khan. The cabinet had discussed it in detail and formed a sub-committee, she said, adding, that the sub-committee had decided that it fell under the scope of a criminal investigation.

She said the matter would be thoroughly investigated and brought to its logical conclusion.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022