Former prime minster and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday said that he refuses to believe the allegations made against him by his former principal secretary Azam Khan even as his party dismissed the bureaucrat's statement as full of contradictions, legally questionable and part of the same sequence of events that have created the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) and 'Parliamentarians' factions.
In a brief statement to reporters in court where Imran was appearing, the PTI chief stated that Azam Khan is an honest man.
"Until I personally hear Azam Khan make these allegations, I will not believe them," Imran stated.
https://twitter.com/TFT_/status/1681622709044916225
Earlier, a PTI spokesperson dismissed the alleged statement by Azam Khan.
The reaction came after Azam Khan recorded a statement before a magistrate in which he claimed that the contents of the cipher were deliberately twisted for political gains per a well-thought out plan of former prime minister Imran Khan and that he had also lost a copy of the cipher, which attracts its own set of legal implications.
In a statement, a spokesperson for PTI said that a statement being attributed to a man who has been missing for over a month is full of contradictions.
READ MORE: Imran Planned On Using US Cipher For Political Motives Against VONC
The official added that the while the truth about what was contained in the alleged statement has yet to be verified, what is true is that a case for his abduction was registered on June 17 and that the Islamabad Police has yet to ascertain his whereabouts.
Legal experts can not even conceive that a man who has been missing for over a month suddenly appears before a magistrate and records a statement per Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the official said.
Further, the PTI spokesperson claimed that disclosing the contents of a statement recorded under Section 164 was criminal as well.
The spokesperson said that the alleged statement appears to be part of the same chain of orchestrated events through which those in custody came out to suddenly join the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians.
The PTI official added that party chief and former prime minister Imran Khan has already disclosed the truth about the enforced disappearance and illegal arrests of political workers and that all of these were moves to isolate him and push him out of national politics.
"Efforts are being made to drive Imran Khan out of national politics by producing "state witnesses" who have been convinced to speak up through force and coercion," the official said.
Instead of causing any damage to Imran, the PTI spokesperson said that the rushed release of such 'scripted' narratives on the cipher will only prove disastrous for the state's current position.
The official reminded that the National Security Committee, which includes officials from the government and the military, had certified the contents of the cipher under two separate regimes and prime ministers.
On both occasions, the cipher was deemed as 'blatant interference in Pakistan's internal affairs', and based on this, Pakistan had issued a demarche to the relevant American authorities in Islamabad and Washington.
Moreover, the PTI official said that prior to the NSC meetings, the federal cabinet had reviewed the cipher and decided to declassify its contents in the public interest.
The speaker of the National Assembly and President Dr Arif Alvi then wrote to the Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, requesting him to conduct a thorough investigation.
He added that Imran, as prime minister and then as the leader of one of the largest political parties in Pakistan, had demanded a high-level inquiry into the cipher.
The PTI demanded why is the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), which has facilitated the creation of a stifling environment for freedom of speech in the country, silent on the airing of unverified information in Pakistan.
He added that instead of operating fake news factories and rumour mills, the government must inform the public about the truth of what had happened to Azam Khan, in whose custody he was, and in which case he was arrested and his statement was recorded.
In a brief statement to reporters in court where Imran was appearing, the PTI chief stated that Azam Khan is an honest man.
"Until I personally hear Azam Khan make these allegations, I will not believe them," Imran stated.
https://twitter.com/TFT_/status/1681622709044916225
Earlier, a PTI spokesperson dismissed the alleged statement by Azam Khan.
The reaction came after Azam Khan recorded a statement before a magistrate in which he claimed that the contents of the cipher were deliberately twisted for political gains per a well-thought out plan of former prime minister Imran Khan and that he had also lost a copy of the cipher, which attracts its own set of legal implications.
In a statement, a spokesperson for PTI said that a statement being attributed to a man who has been missing for over a month is full of contradictions.
READ MORE: Imran Planned On Using US Cipher For Political Motives Against VONC
The official added that the while the truth about what was contained in the alleged statement has yet to be verified, what is true is that a case for his abduction was registered on June 17 and that the Islamabad Police has yet to ascertain his whereabouts.
Legal experts can not even conceive that a man who has been missing for over a month suddenly appears before a magistrate and records a statement per Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the official said.
Further, the PTI spokesperson claimed that disclosing the contents of a statement recorded under Section 164 was criminal as well.
The spokesperson said that the alleged statement appears to be part of the same chain of orchestrated events through which those in custody came out to suddenly join the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians.
The PTI official added that party chief and former prime minister Imran Khan has already disclosed the truth about the enforced disappearance and illegal arrests of political workers and that all of these were moves to isolate him and push him out of national politics.
"Efforts are being made to drive Imran Khan out of national politics by producing "state witnesses" who have been convinced to speak up through force and coercion," the official said.
Instead of causing any damage to Imran, the PTI spokesperson said that the rushed release of such 'scripted' narratives on the cipher will only prove disastrous for the state's current position.
The official reminded that the National Security Committee, which includes officials from the government and the military, had certified the contents of the cipher under two separate regimes and prime ministers.
On both occasions, the cipher was deemed as 'blatant interference in Pakistan's internal affairs', and based on this, Pakistan had issued a demarche to the relevant American authorities in Islamabad and Washington.
Moreover, the PTI official said that prior to the NSC meetings, the federal cabinet had reviewed the cipher and decided to declassify its contents in the public interest.
The speaker of the National Assembly and President Dr Arif Alvi then wrote to the Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, requesting him to conduct a thorough investigation.
He added that Imran, as prime minister and then as the leader of one of the largest political parties in Pakistan, had demanded a high-level inquiry into the cipher.
The PTI demanded why is the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), which has facilitated the creation of a stifling environment for freedom of speech in the country, silent on the airing of unverified information in Pakistan.
He added that instead of operating fake news factories and rumour mills, the government must inform the public about the truth of what had happened to Azam Khan, in whose custody he was, and in which case he was arrested and his statement was recorded.