ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Friday summoned former foreign minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi for an inquiry into the audio leaks regarding the controversial US cipher.

Sources in the FIA confirmed the development and said former foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood had also appeared before the investigation team at the FIA headquarters, where he was grilled over the issue.

The sources disclosed that a notice was issued to Mr Qureshi, summoning him to the FIA headquarters on Nov 1 at 12 noon. He is expected to be questioned regarding the cipher during the ongoing inquiry into the audio leaks.

Earlier, the federal cabinet had issued a formal approval to pursue legal action against PTI Chairman Imran Khan and his party leaders regarding the ‘cipher’ audio leaks, it was reported.

The FIA was given approval by the cabinet to investigate the audio leaks, wherein the former government high-ups allegedly discussed how would they “play” on the cipher issue.

A cabinet committee was constituted on Sept 30 to discuss the audio leaks purportedly featuring the PTI chief and his party leaders, including general secretary Asad Umar, then personal secretary Azam Khan and Mr Qureshi. The committee at a recent meeting recommended legal action, with proposals presented before the cabinet in the form of a summary for approval.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2022