Former prime minister Imran Khan’s then-principal secretary Azam Khan on Wednesday allegedly submitted a confession accusing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief of using a cipher sent by the then-ambassador to the U.S. for political means and “create a narrative” against the establishment and opposition.
Azam Khan’s “confession,” reportedly recorded before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, came over a month after he went “missing,” with Islamabad police informing court they had no knowledge of his whereabouts. The PTI has already sought to rubbish it, while the government has described it as a “charge-sheet” against the former prime minister.
According to the statement attributed to Azam Khan—which could not be independently verified—he was approached by the then-foreign secretary on March 8, 2022 and informed about the cipher. He also claimed that then-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had already discussed the cipher with Imran Khan prior to this.
The statement alleges that Imran Khan was “euphoric” after seeing the cipher, saying he would use America’s “blunder” to build an “anti-establishment narrative.” It claims Khan had told Azam that the cipher could be used to allege “foreign involvement” in his ouster through a no-confidence motion, adding that he would “twist the narrative that a foreign conspiracy is being hatched in collusion with local partners and play victim card.”
It further alleges that the cipher copy was retained by Imran Khan, who informed Azam on March 10 that he had “misplaced” it. The statement claims the PTI chief failed to return the original cipher despite repeated requests. Azam Khan’s reported statement also alleges that he had advised his former boss not to disclose the contents of the cipher since it was a confidential document.
Government stance
In a press conference shortly after Azam’s alleged statement was reported, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah claimed it had “exposed” Imran Khan’s conspiracy narrative. “The PTI chairman tarnished the reputation of state institutions through cipher conspiracy. He should be punished for staging the drama,” he said.
Alleging that former foreign minister Qureshi was also involved in concocting the cipher narrative, he maintained that the PTI had sought to damage Pakistan’s foreign ties for its vested interests. Referring to Azam Khan’s statement, he said it had “confirmed” that making confidential state documents public was a crime. “If he [Imran Khan] can sacrifice the national interest for personal gains then he can do anything,” he said, claiming the May 9 riots had been a continuation of this mindset.
“The PTI chairman will be held accountable for this crime. This is a matter of national interest,” he said, claiming a case would be registered against the PTI chief on the basis of Azam’s “confessional statement” and the state would become a complainant in the matter. “This case will be sent to a special court,” he added.
PTI rebuts
In an informal interaction with journalists during a court appearance, Imran Khan described Azam as an “honest man,” adding he would not accept the statement as reported until he heard the bureaucrat say it himself. In a subsequent post on Twitter, he vowed to present a “proper expose” on the cipher issue with “uncensored details” of how it was used to overthrow his government. “I assure you, it will be more gripping than any drama on TV,” he claimed.
Separately, a PTI spokesman issued a statement describing the alleged confession as a “pack of lies.” It also claimed the alleged statement was “disastrous” for the Pakistan state’s point of view on the cipher. “The National Security Committee has twice authenticated the message given in the cipher in its two meetings held under the premiership of Imran Khan and Shehbaz Sharif,” it said, noting it had been described as an “interference into Pakistan’s internal matters” and a demarche issued over it.
The PTI spokesperson also claimed the federal cabinet had reviewed the cipher ahead of the NSC meeting and declared it a declassified document.
Cipher conspiracy
The cipher controversy first emerged on March 27, 2022 when then-prime minister Imran Khan brandished a paper during a rally, claiming it was a cipher from a foreign nation seeking his ouster. He initially did not reveal its contents or name the country, but a few days later directly named the U.S. and Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Donald Lu during a TV appearance.
Claiming the cipher had stated that “all will be forgiven for Pakistan if Imran Khan is removed from power,” he also convened a meeting of the NSC on March 31, which decided to issue a “strong demarche” to the U.S. for its “blatant interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan.” However, it stopped short of identifying its contents as a “conspiracy,” as repeatedly alleged by Khan.
Following Khan’s removal, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also convened a meeting of the NSC that found no evidence of a foreign conspiracy in the cipher.
Several months later, two audio leaks emerged in which Khan, then-minister Asad Umar and Azam Khan could allegedly be heard discussing the cipher and its potential use for vested interests.