Prosecution witnesses testified in ‘cypher case’ against Pakistan’s ex-Premier Khan

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – A Pakistani court on Tuesday recorded statements from six prosecution witnesses, including the country’s former ambassador to the US, in a case accusing incarcerated ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan of leaking “state secrets,” a court record and local media reported.

The court, which is hearing the case in a jail in the northeastern garrison city of Rawalpindi, recorded the statement of Asad Majeed Khan, who sent a cypher to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry following his diplomatic communications with US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu in 2022, whom Khan claimed was part of a US conspiracy to topple his government.

Majeed, who recently retired as foreign secretary, denied any mention of "threat" or "conspiracy" in his cypher statement, according to local broadcaster Geo News.

Following Khan's ouster from power, the government in Islamabad and Washington denied the accusation.

Khan, who served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, and his Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who is also charged in the cypher case, were both present in court.

Khan, the cricketer-turned-politician, is currently facing multiple civil and criminal cases, and lost a vote of confidence in parliament in April 2022, more than a year before his five-year term was set to end.

In Aug. 2022, he was sentenced by a trial court in Islamabad for concealing details of state gifts he received while prime minister and later “unlawfully” selling them. Pakistan’s Election Commission, consequently, barred him from holding public office for five years.

However, weeks later, the Islamabad High Court suspended his sentence and ordered his release. Nevertheless, he is still languishing in jail in several other cases ahead of the general elections slated to be held on Feb. 8.