A formal governmental approval has been issued to pursue legal action against PTI chief Imran Khan and his party leaders over the ‘cipher’ audio leaks, it was reported on Sunday.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was given the go-ahead to investigate the “diplomatic cipher” audio leak, in which former government high-ups reportedly discussed how they would “play” on the cipher issue, according to a cabinet decision.
On September 30, the cabinet committee on audio leaks discussed the proceedings involving General Secretary Asad Umar, personal secretary Azam Khan, and Vice-President Shah Mahmood Qureshi, including the audio leaks.
Yesterday’s meeting offered suggestions as a summary before the cabinet for consideration.
“It is a matter of national security that could have adverse effects on the country’s interests, the cabinet committee stated in a notification”. The FIA must form a committee consisting of senior officials to investigate the matter, and legal action is required.
The committee’s recommendation is as follows: “The FIA team should take action against offenders as per the law.”
The leak
A discussion between Imran Khan, Asad Umar, Azam Khan, and Shah Mahmood Qureshi allegedly discussing the “threat cipher”, ratcheting up the controversy around the steady leak of damaging information, has emerged in recent audio leaks.
The audio, which lasted for 1 minute and 9 seconds, was posted on social media and purported to be a conversation between Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umar and Azam Khan about setting the stage for a narrative about the Cablegate scandal.
