Refuting Imran Khan's allegations of the United States orchestrating a plan to remove him from power, Shahid Ahmed Khan, adviser to US President Joe Biden on Arts, remarked that the 'cipher drama' involving the former Pakistan Prime Minister had turned the country into a laughing stock across the world.
Last year, Imran Khan alleged that the US orchestrated a plan to remove him from office and brandished a cipher at a public rally to back his claims. The US has time and again denied such allegations, terming them "categorically false".
In an interaction with the media, Shahid said that the US Senators had written a general letter over the human rights conditions in Pakistan and not towards the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman. He said that Pakistan was not ignored by the US for its relations with China.
He also asserted that American companies will invest in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and a US Agency for International Development (USAID) cell has been created to help the initiative. The US President's advisor further said that if the letter was so important, Pakistan would not have received the $3 billion 'stand-by' assistance by the International Monetary Fund.
Shahid further said that Pakistan spoils its relations with other nations and institutions when it comes to its interests, and that IMF was not happy with the local leadership of the country over the non-implementation of an agreement made during Imran Khan's tenure.
Most Pakistanis in the US are not concerned with the politics in Islamabad, he remarked, adding that American diplomats did not even talk to the Pakistani government over the cipher, which is supposed to be a secret document.
What is the cipher case?
In a surprising turn of events, Khan's then-principal secretary Azam Khan, who had been missing since last month, has returned home after a letter attributed to him in relation to his statement against Khan emerged on social media.
The statement attributed to Azam Khan claimed that the PTI chief was allegedly “euphoric” after seeing the cipher and decided to use it to build an “anti-establishment narrative” on the back of a "blunder" committed by the US.
“The cipher copy was retained by Imran Khan and the next day (March 10) when he asked for it, Imran Khan replied that he has misplaced it,” the confession statement said, adding that the PTI chief did not return the original cipher despite repeated requests.
The interior minister had on Wednesday termed the narrative behind the cipher "fabricated’" and claimed that Khan committed a crime and ex-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was an “abettor”. The interior minister explained that since the cipher was a confidential document, its disclosure was unlawful and a crime.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Thursday warned that he might be arrested if he fails to cooperate with the investigation into the leaking of national secrets.
However, Imran Khan claimed that the resurgence of the cipher controversy was aimed at disqualifying him from the upcoming general elections by the ruling parties. However, he did not provide any fresh evidence to back his allegations, Dawn reported.
The Shehbaz Sharif-led government is planning to prosecute Imran Khan under the Official Secrets Act for “retaining” the confidential cipher in a purported attempt to stall his ouster from power.
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