ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik has demanded on Thursday lodging a case against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman for tarnishing the image of the state institutions through “cypher conspiracy.”

Addressing at a news conference, he said the recent statement of the former principal secretary of Imran Khan, Azam Khan exposed the PTI chief’s cypher conspiracy that was used for political gains.

“He (Azam) did not reveal anything novel as everybody already knew the cypher issue,” he said.

Former prime minister Imran Khan will face criminal proceedings under the Official Secrets Act.

Under this Act, he added that missing secret documents is entitled to three years imprisonment and 17 years imprisonment is for making them public.

The minister said the confessional statement of Azam Khan had confirmed that making a confidential state document public is a crime. The reality of Azam’s statement before the magistrate would soon come to the surface. In case, Azam backtracked from his statement before the magistrate, still the former prime minister would face criminal charges, the minister added.

He said the confessional statement of Azam Khan was a charge sheet against the PTI chairman as making a secret document public was a clear violation of the oath and the constitution of the country.

Responding to a question regarding the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan, he said he should be held accountable for this crime as this is a matter of national interest but the investigation would take time to complete.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023