Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umar appear before FIA in cypher & audio leaks inquiry case

ISLAMABAD, July 24 (SABAH): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi and former general secretary Asad Umar appeared before the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) on Monday to record their statements in probes related to the cypher and audio leaks inquiries.

The two political leaders were responding to summons issued by the federal authority’s anti-terrorism wing.

An eight-member joint inquiry team, led by FIA Islamabad Zone Director Rana Jabbar and comprising Grade-19 officers from three intelligence agencies as well as officers from different FIA departments, is conducting the probe, according to Express News.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan has also been summoned today (Tuesday).

The investigation into the cypher picked pace after the Lahore High Court withdrew the stay order on summons to the ex-premier, and a day after it, Khan’s then-principal secretary Azam Khan “recorded” a statement, terming the US cypher a “conspiracy” used by the ex-PM to “manipulate for creating a narrative against establishment and opposition”.

Speaking to the media after their appearance, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that he was before the inquiry team for around two hours and answered their questions.

The PTI chief has been summoned tomorrow and he will appear as well, added Qureshi, who served as the federal foreign minister during PTI’s tenure in government.

Qureshi maintained that the existence of the cypher is an undeniable fact. Different statements have been made regarding it but two sessions of the National Security Council were convened, one under the premiership of Imran Khan and another under the premiership of Shehbaz Sharif, and in both sittings, the cypher was acknowledged as a fact, he said.

“I have said this before: cypher is a reality and was a reality. Serious people, not part of my party, claimed it was a political drama,” Qureshi said.