LARKANA: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Sunday that the cipher case against former prime minister Imran Khan was a very “serious issue” that merited an investigation since it was a major national security breach.
The cipher case pertains to a diplomatic document that the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) charge sheet alleges was never returned by Imran Khan. The PTI says that the document contained a threat from the US to oust Imran Khan as prime minister.
On Friday, the Supreme Court had granted Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi bail in the case.
Asked about the development while talking to the media in Larkana after filing his nomination papers, Bilawal Bhutto said it was visible that Imran Khan was getting “relief” in the case.
He said that the cipher case is a very serious case. I cannot be in favour of political retribution against a politician because our family and party have suffered, and we would not want the same for our opponents. But the cipher case is a very serious matter.
Bilawal Bhutto Gives Example of Donald Trump
Bilawal Bhutto gave the example of former US president Donald Trump, who has been indicted over his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. Bilawal Bhutto said that the US government had raided Donald Trump’s home to retrieve the documents.
He said that Pakistan’s classified documents are the property of the state. The country faces a national security threat if these documents are somehow leaked. So there should be a full probe into the matter, and the reality should be before the public and the nation since this was a big national security breach.
Bilawal Bhutto said that based on his experience as a foreign minister, every cipher had only limited copies — one for the foreign minister, one for the prime minister, and sometimes for security agencies if required.
He added all the copies in the cipher case had been accounted for except for the prime minister’s copy.
Imran Khan has admitted on television that he misplaced it, and on the day of his arrest, that cipher was leaked to the local media. This is a very serious matter, and the court should take it as seriously as any other problem on which questions of national security are raised, Bilawal maintained.
