The Federal cabinet was on Friday informed that a copy of the diplomatic cypher carrying the details of the US\u2019s purported threat to ex-premier Imran Khan\u2019s government was \u201cmissing\u201d from Prime Minister House records.
\nThe cypher, based on then-envoy Asad Majeed\u2019s meeting with State Department official Donald Lu, has been at the centre of PTI\u2019s claim that the US conspired with elements within Pakistan to dislodge Imran from office.
\nA handout issued after a meeting of the cabinet declared that the \u201ctheft\u201d of diplomatic cypher records is an \u201cunforgivable crime\u201d and violation of the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
\nAfter detailed deliberations, the cabinet formed a special committee which will determine the legal action to be taken against all those involved, including the ex-premier, ex-principal secretary to prime minister and senior ministers.
\n\u201cThe cabinet committee will consist of the representatives of the coalition parties in the government, along with ministers,\u201d the handout added.
\nThe cabinet was told that the act was an \u201cunpardonable crime\u201d against the state which was tantamount to prioritising political interests over key state interests.
\nThe meeting participants were informed that the record of the receipt of the cypher was available with the relevant department, but the diplomatic cable was missing.
\n\u201cAccording to the law, this document is the property of Prime Minister House,\u201d the statement said.
\nWith regard to the audios, the cabinet was told that the audios purportedly featuring Imran and his aides exposed \u201cthe criminal conspiracy of the former government\u201d, while the cypher was given \u201cfictitious meanings for political mileage and subsequently it was stolen after fraud, forgery, fabrication.\u201d
\nThe cabinet also strongly condemned the \u201charassment and intimidation\u201d of Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb by the PTI workers in London. The meeting noted that there was no room for such a behaviour in Islam or even in Western civilisation.
\nThe members appreciated \u201cexemplary patience and bravery\u201d shown by the minister.
\nThe controversy surrounding the no-confidence motion against the former premier Imran Khan took a dramatic turn when the embattled PM brandished a letter at a rally on March 27 \u2014 days before his ouster \u2014 claiming it contained evidence of a \u201cforeign conspiracy\u201d hatched to topple his government.
\nImran had kept mum about the contents of the letter when he first unveiled it but he spilled the beans days later by naming the United States when the exit of his government appeared imminent.
\nImran\u2019s allegation that the US spearheaded his exit from power was based on a cypher received from Pakistan\u2019s Ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed, in which the envoy had reported about a meeting with Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Donald Lu.
\nMajeed had reportedly said that Donald Lu warned that Imran Khan\u2019s continuation in office, who was set to face a vote of no confidence, would have repercussions on bilateral relations.
\nThe US was said to be annoyed with Imran over his \u201cindependent foreign policy\u201d and visit to Moscow.
\nThe Pentagon and the State Department have repeatedly rejected the accusations, saying there was no veracity to it.
\nThe National Security Committee (NSC), which includes all services chiefs as well as the head of Pakistan\u2019s top intelligence agency, took up the matter on March 31 with then premier Imran Khan in the chair. The forum decided to issue a \u201cstrong demarche\u201d to a country that it did not name over what it termed as \u201cblatant interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan\u201d.
\nIt had also termed the interference \u201cunacceptable under any circumstances\u201d and said the language used in the communique was undiplomatic.
\nWhile the forum had stopped short of calling the interference a conspiracy at the time, another meeting of the NSC was held on April 22 with newly elected premier Shehbaz Sharif in the chair, and which included the same military chiefs who attended the March 31 session.
\nDuring its second meeting, the NSC statement said it \u201creaffirmed the decisions of the last NSC meeting\u201d and explicitly went on to add that it found no evidence of a foreign conspiracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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