ISLAMABAD (Daily Point) — In a court proceeding on Thursday, Azam Khan, the former principal secretary to Prime Minister Imran Khan, revealed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder had retained a copy of a controversial cipher and later claimed it had gone missing. Azam Khan, giving his statement in the cipher case at a special court in Rawalpindi, took an oath on the Holy Quran.

During the hearing, five witnesses—Anis-ur-Rehman, Javed Iqbal, Hadayat Ullah Muhammad Ashfaq, and Azam—testified in Adiala Jail. The court adjourned the hearing until January 22, with Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain presiding over the proceedings.

Azam Khan explained that he had received the cipher copy from his staff in March 2022 and subsequently handed it over to the then Prime Minister. According to Azam, Imran Khan kept a copy of the cipher, later asserting that it had disappeared.

Recounting the sequence of events, Azam mentioned that the master copy of the cipher was in the possession of the foreign ministry. A meeting at Bani Gala was convened to review the contents of the copy, leading to a decision to present the cipher to the federal cabinet. The cabinet, in turn, referred the matter to the National Security Committee to determine the appropriate response to a perceived interference by the US in Pakistan’s internal affairs, Azam Khan stated.

Moreover, Azam disclosed that, during his tenure, the customary practice of returning the cipher copy to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not followed. He claimed to have informed Imran Khan, his military secretary, and relevant staff multiple times that the cipher copy had not been returned. Subsequently, the military secretary, ADC, and staff were tasked with addressing the issue, as per Azam Khan’s statement.