ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States and a witness in the cipher case Asad Majeed said there was no mention of the words “conspiracy” and “threat” in the diplomatic cable received from the US, The News reported on Wednesday. .
The former envoy’s statement came on Tuesday during the hearing of the encryption case by Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain under the Special Court of Official Secrets Act, which also recorded the statements of five other witnesses in the case against the former prime minister and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
The hearing, which was held at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, was adjourned till today (Wednesday). Khan and Qureshi also appeared in the courtroom, while six prosecution witnesses including Majeed, Faisal Tirmizi and Akbar Durrani were also present.
The former envoy said he was Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States from January 2019 to March 2022. On 7 March 2022, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu was invited to a working lunch. It was a prearranged meeting held at the Pakistan House in Washington.
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Communication was taking place at the meeting, so a cipher telegram was sent to the foreign secretary. The meeting was also attended by the deputy head of the mission and the defense attache.
At the meeting, both parties knew that minutes of the meeting were being taken. The conversation at the meeting was reported to Islamabad in a code telegram. There was no reference to the words “threat” or “conspiracy” in the secret code telegram.
Majeed further told the court that he was also summoned to the National Security Committee meeting. And at the meeting it was decided to issue a demarche.
“I suggested issuing a demarche.
He said the cipher issue was a stumbling block for Pakistan-US relations.
PTI founder and Qureshi’s lawyers will begin cross-examination of witnesses from today. In total, the statements of 25 witnesses are recorded in the cipher case.
Earlier, when the hearing began, Qureshi came to the stand and said that his nomination papers from NA-151 and PP-218 were rejected. “I asked for the nomination papers to be confirmed, the judge asked me to attach my order, but the nomination papers were rejected despite the referee’s order,” he added.
Qureshi became angry when public prosecutor Raja Rizwan Abbasi spoke on the occasion. The PTI leader said, “I am talking about my fundamental rights, why are you interrupting them?
Qureshi said, “If you came from above? Who you are? What is your social status?
Abbasi responded with the same coin. The judge kept exhorting Qureshi to remain calm.
The PTI leader filed a petition against the rejection of the nomination papers. The judge said it was his right and the earl would look into that request.
“You will get the rights you have,” the court added.
