Imran Khan-Did Moment: No Cipher Conspiracy, It Was His Conclusion, Says Pak’s Ex-US Ambassador | Exclusive

In a big blow to Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan, Asad Majeed Khan, the country’s former ambassador to the United States, told a special court that there was no “cipher conspiracy", according to top sources in the country.

The case pertains to a secret diplomatic document that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Khan used to criticise his opponents for allegedly orchestrating his ouster from power in April last year. The document reportedly went missing from his possession. Khan’s party has alleged that the document contained a threat from the US to oust Khan from office.

Majeed told the court that he met the US officials at his home for lunch and it was an on-record meeting, which his counterparts were also aware of. A coded communication was sent to the Foreign Secretary as part of a routine process. In his capacity, then Foreign Secretary shared that report with all relevant people. The communication did not mention any “threat or conspiracy".

“The actual details of the meeting were shared with the Foreign Secretary and nothing suggesting a conspiracy was mentioned. This conclusion was drawn by the then Imran Khan government," Majeed told the court, according to sources in Pakistan.

Career diplomat Asad Majeed Khan was appointed as Pakistan’s foreign secretary in December 2022.

The statement, suggesting that Khan created the controversy against foreign partners for his own political benefit, will cost him a lot, said sources.

The special court on Tuesday adjourned till October 23 the indictment of Khan and his close aide Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case for allegedly violating the secret laws of the country.

Khan was ousted through a vote of no-confidence in April 2022. He was incarcerated on August 5 this year, after an Islamabad court sentenced him to three years in prison in the Toshakhana case. The PTI chief was lodged in the Attock District Jail to serve his prison term. Later, his sentence was suspended by the Islamabad High Court, but then he was arrested in the cipher case.

With PTI Inputs