Authorities detained Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the vice chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), outside his apartment in Islamabad.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi arrested: Following his apprehension, authorities brought Qureshi to the headquarters of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the capital.
Sources indicated that Qureshi was detained in connection with a cypher case.
In the previous three months, authorities have detained the PTI Vice Chairman twice, once in connection with a case related to violence on May 9 and again regarding the cypher issue.
The FIA filed a complaint against PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan after accusing him of misplacing a copy of a diplomatic cypher.
Sources claimed that the FIA’s Counter-Terrorism Wing has filed the first information report (FIR) against Khan.
The former prime minister Imran Khan, along with his political allies and his secretary, are facing accusations of directly disclosing classified information through a cypher telegram without proper authorization, as well as its subsequent misuse and unauthorized retention. A joint inquiry team has already begun the investigation on the previous government’s instructions. Khan gave a taped statement when he appeared in front of the investigating team on July 25.
They claimed that a few days ago, the inquiry team looked into Khan at the Attock prison.
“Imran Khan Alleged Foreign Plot to Topple Government: A Look at the Claims and Reversals”
Khan, the country’s prime minister at the time, asserted there was a foreign plot afoot to topple his government on March 27, 2022.
Imran referred to his D-Chowk address but made no mention of the US or the other nations engaged. He had stated, “I rarely write my speeches, but I did write my address today to avoid getting emotional and saying something that could impact our foreign policy.
Imran had also stated, while removing a piece of paper from his black waistcoat’s pocket and claiming it to be proof, “We got to know about it [international conspiracy] a few months back…I can show the letter to him if he has any questions, but it would be off the record, the PM stated.
“We acknowledge the origins of the pressure exerted on us… We have received written threats, but we will not yield to personal agendas under any circumstances.”
A few days later, as the vote of no-confidence gained traction, Imran referenced the US specifically in another live address before retraction. Imran expanded on the story after losing his position as prime minister before claiming this year that his government was the target of a “regime change conspiracy” that originated in Pakistan, not the US.
a report from The Intercept
The US-based news outlet The Intercept released a report based on the “cypher” document earlier this month.
Asad Majeed Khan, who was then Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, met with State Department officials, including Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, according to a document marked “Secret,” according to The Intercept.
According to the alleged contents of the cable, the US disagreed with Imran’s approach to international affairs in relation to the conflict in Ukraine. According to the report, Lu stated that “people here and in Europe are quite concerned about why Pakistan is taking such an aggressively neutral position (on Ukraine), if such a position is even possible. To us, that doesn’t appear like a neutral stance.
The US National Security Council has been the subject of internal talks, according to Lu, who added that “it seems quite clear that this is the Prime Minister’s policy.”
The memo quotes Lu as stating, “I believe that if the no-confidence vote against the Prime Minister is successful, everything will be pardoned in Washington, as the Russia visit is being perceived as a decision made by the Prime Minister.”
Otherwise, I believe the future will be difficult.
Furthermore, Lu cautioned that failure to resolve the situation might result in Pakistan losing the support of its Western partners.
I am unable to predict how Europe will view this, but I believe their response will be similar, Lu added.
In response to The Intercept’s revelation, outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated that it would be a “massive crime” if the supposed contents of a diplomatic cypher, which former Prime Minister Imran Khan claimed was evidence of an attempt to overthrow his administration, were genuine.
“Sanaullah Calls for Probe into Source Document Amid Imran Khan’s Conspiracy Claims”
Prior to The Intercept’s report on the “cypher,” which Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan claimed was evidence of a US conspiracy to overthrow his government last year, former interior minister and PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah called for an investigation into the veracity of the source document.
He wrote in a tweet on Thursday, “The investigation needs to be conducted to establish the authenticity of the information or source document, although there is nothing new in this story.” Potentially, it is a highly nefarious, cunning, and subversive conduct.