{"id":39334,"date":"2023-12-24T14:44:04","date_gmt":"2023-12-24T14:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/bilawal-says-cipher-case-against-imran-major-national-security-breach-merits-investigation\/"},"modified":"2023-12-24T14:44:04","modified_gmt":"2023-12-24T14:44:04","slug":"bilawal-says-cipher-case-against-imran-major-national-security-breach-merits-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/bilawal-says-cipher-case-against-imran-major-national-security-breach-merits-investigation\/","title":{"rendered":"Bilawal says cipher case against Imran \u2018major national security breach\u2019, merits investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"

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PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday said the cipher case against former prime minister Imran Khan was a very \u201cserious issue\u201d that merited an investigation since it was a \u201cmajor national security breach\u201d.<\/p>\n

The cipher case pertains to a diplomatic document<\/a> that the Federal Investigation Agency\u2019s (FIA) charge sheet alleges was never returned<\/a> by Imran. The PTI has long held<\/a> that the document contained a threat from the United States to oust Imran as prime minister.<\/p>\n

On Friday, the Supreme Court had granted<\/a> Imran and ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi bail in the case.<\/p>\n

Asked about the development while talking to the media in Larkana after submitting his nomination papers, Bilawal said it was visible that Imran was getting \u201crelief\u201d in the case.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cipher case is a very serious case. I cannot be in favour of political retribution against a politician because our party and family have suffered and we would not want the same for our opponents. But the cipher case is a very serious issue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bilawal gave the example of former US president Donald Trump, who has been indicted<\/a> over his handling of classified documents after leaving office. Bilawal said the US government had raided Trump\u2019s home to retrieve the documents.<\/p>\n

\u201cPakistan\u2019s classified documents are the property of the state. We face a national security threat if these documents are somehow leaked. So there should be a full investigation on the cipher and the reality should be before the public and the nation since this was a major national security breach,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bilawal said that based on his experience as a foreign minister, every cipher had only limited copies \u2014 one for the FM, one for the premier and sometimes for security agencies if required.<\/p>\n

He said all the copies in the cipher case had been accounted for except for the prime minister\u2019s copy.<\/p>\n

\u201cKhan sahib<\/em> has admitted on television that he misplaced it and the day of his arrest, that cipher was leaked to the internal media. This is a very serious issue and the court should take it as seriously as any other issue on which questions of national security are raised,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bilawal said the government should pursue a thorough investigation on the matter and a judicial inquiry should also be ordered to determine the facts of the case.<\/p>\n

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