Former Army Chief willing to appear as witness in cipher case: The News

Former army chief General (r) Qamar Javed Bajwa can surprise founder and former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, as he is “willing to appear” as a witness in the cipher case, The News has reported.

During the last hearing in cipher case, Imran Khan said while speaking to journalists, “I will include General Bajwa and US Embassy officials as witnesses in the case.”

A source from The News confirmed that the former army chief also showed willingness to appear as a witness. However, he will require permission from military authorities.

The former prime minister is currently in Adiala jail and facing charges under the Official Secrets Act, 1923. A special court is hearing the cipher case against Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Imran had alleged that “General Bajwa did everything on Donald Lu’s directives”. 

This accusation does not match the statements given by witnesses, including the former secretary of foreign affairs and Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US. Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US was in contact with Donald Lu, and their communication’s result was a cable that was sent to the foreign ministry, which is a normal thing.

Imran Khan had also claimed that the cipher was a conspiracy against him to remove him from the office.

The National Security Committee (NSC) deliberated over the cipher twice, once when Imran Khan was the prime minister of Pakistan and later in the tenure of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif.

The NSC found no evidence of conspiracy on both occasions against Imran Khan in the cipher.