Almost 16 months after former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan was pushed out of Parliament through a no-confidence motion while crying hoarse about a ‘conspiracy’ from the US, a credible American investigation journal – ‘The Intercept’ — has published the text of the ‘Cypher’ the Pakistani ambassador sent to the foreign office on March 7, 2022.
The full text of the diplomatic cable that has become known as the ‘Cypher’ was leaked on Wednesday, confirming at least that the American cold shoulder towards Imran Khan was due to a domestic political situation in Islamabad far beyond the no-confidence vote.
If the transcribed text is to be believed, the ‘Cypher’ establishes the stance of ousted and now jailed PM Khan that the US official Donald Lu had used threatening language against the PTI government.
Asad Majeed Khan, who was then Pakistan’s ambassador to the US, started the ‘Cypher’ with — “I had a luncheon meeting today with Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Donald Lu — He was accompanied by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Les Viguerie. DCM, DA and Counsellor Qasim joined me.”
The operative parts of the ‘Cypher’, as published by ‘The Intercept’, are as follows:
“I asked Don if the reason for a strong U.S. reaction was Pakistan’s abstention in the voting in the UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) — He categorically replied in the negative and said that it was due to the Prime Minister’s visit to Moscow — He said that “I think if the no-confidence vote against the Prime Minister succeeds, all will be forgiven in Washington because the Russia visit is being looked at as a decision by the Prime Minister — Otherwise, I think it will be tough going ahead.”
He paused and then said “I cannot tell how this will be seen by Europe but I suspect their reaction will be similar —He then said that “honestly I think isolation of the Prime Minister Khan will become very strong from Europe and the United States.”
‘The Intercept’ stated that the confidential cable was provided with the secret document by a source “who had access to the document as a member of the military”. The source added that they had no ties to Imran Khan or his party.
The controversy surrounding the recent leak has taken a new turn as Ryan Grim, the journalist, who authored the bombshell story in ‘The Intercept’, has revealed in a series of tweets that the alleged source within the Pakistani military provided him with the sensitive document.
The cable is deemed highly confidential and a state secret covered under the Official Secrets Act. It is stored within the Foreign Office, and limited ‘view-only’ copies are created and distributed among those authorised to see it, including the Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff. The copies are then supposed to be returned to the Foreign Office for safekeeping.
The media has received directives not to air or publish the Cypher story.
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