LARKANA: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has demanded a judicial investigation in the cipher case.
Speaking to media here, Bilawal said the cipher case is a serious matter and a judicial investigation must be carried out in it. He said that relief has been given in the cipher case; however, the Bhutto family went through political victimisation that is why “we want proper investigation of the cipher case”.
Bilawal said that it is clear to him that relief is being given to Imran Khan. He said that the Ex-president of US Donald Trump was tried in court and classified documents were recovered from his residence, so the cipher case also requires investigation and the people of Pakistan should know the truth behind cipher case as it was security breach.
“Any classified documentation of Pakistan is the property of the state. The release of such documents may threaten our national security. There should be a full investigation into the Cipher case, and the public should be informed. This is a huge national security breach,” he added.
“Having been Foreign Minister, I know that very limited copies of such ciphers are made,” Bilawal said, adding that one copy is made for the President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, and one copy is sent to the security agencies if the matter is relevant to them.
“There is a track record of all the documents in this case. The cipher that was sent to the Foreign Minister, the cipher that went to the President, they have a track record, but for the cipher that was sent to Imran Khan as the Prime Minister, there is no track record. Khan himself told the media that the cipher was lost from him. The day Imran Khan was arrested, the cipher was leaked to the international media,” he pointed out.
Chairman PPP said that the cipher matter is a very serious issue, and I think the court should also take this issue seriously as it has raised questions on our national security. “The government should investigate or the judges themselves should conduct a judicial inquiry to find out what is the story behind the cipher,” he urged.
He said that his party is the only party in the country that is looking only to the people for victory in the February 8 elections, as it has unwavering faith in the people of Pakistan. He said that he has submitted his nomination papers for three constituencies of the National Assembly - Larkana, Kamber-Shahdadkot and Lahore.
Bilawal, in response to a question about electoral alliance with other parties, said that his party is contesting the election on its own, and has not decided on an alliance with any other party.
In response to another question, the PPP chairman said that the symbol of the bat was added only to benefit Imran Khan; otherwise, in the previous elections, this symbol was not included in the symbols issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).