The PPP Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, on Sunday said the cipher case against Imran Khan was a very “serious issue” that merited an investigation since it was a “major national security breach”.
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 “relief” in the case.
“The 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,” he said.
Bilawal gave the example of former US president Donald Trump, who has been indicted over his handling of classified documents after leaving office. Bilawal said the US government had raided Trump’s home to retrieve the documents.
“Pakistan’s 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,” he said.
Bilawal said that based on his experience as a foreign minister, every cipher had only limited copies — one for the FM, one for the premier and sometimes for security agencies if required. He said all the copies in the cipher case had been accounted for except for the prime minister’s copy. “Khan sahib 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,” he said.
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.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the Pakistan Muslim League-N would not win the upcoming elections as the people have shown their support for the PPP.
He passed a satirical comment on the former PM’s homecoming mentioning that his ambition and hope of premiership would fail as his party has not enough support of the people. On a question about an alliance with the PTI, Bilawal said the PPP would contest the February 8 general election on the basis of its own strength and there was no alliance as yet with any other party.
However, he did say there was “ample scope” for the PPP to work together with political workers since “we are the only political party that believes in democracy and not political vendettas.”
He said only people will be the source of power as they have always supported the party because its manifesto and policies have worked for the betterment of the masses.
