ISLAMABAD: The Fe­­d­­eral Investigation Age­n­­cy (FIA) interrogated PTI Chairman Imran Khan in Attock Jail on Wednesday in a case related to a diplomatic cable that reportedly went missing from his custody.

While media reports suggested that the PTI chief had been booked by FIA in the cipher case on Wednesday, this could not be independently verified by Dawn. Last month, on July 25, Mr Khan appeared before a joint investigation team formed to investigate the cipher case.

Mr Khan has also been under increased scrutiny following the publication of a purported copy of the secret cable by US outlet The Intercept, with many in the outgoing government pointing fingers at the PTI chief for being the source of the leak.

The timing of the purported cable’s publication also seems quite signific­ant, as it came in the wake of Imran Khan’s imprisonment over graft charges in the Toshakhana case.

Sources said that a case was still being drawn up against the former PM. In the past, outgoing interior minister Rana Sanaullah had said that if Mr Khan had indeed lost the copy of the cipher provided to him, it would constitute a crime under the Official Secrets Act.

The FIA was initially investigating Mr Khan for revealing the contents of a confidential diplomatic cable and keeping it in his possession.

However, after the disclosure of former principal secretary Azam Khan that the cipher went missing from the custody of Imran Khan, the investigation agency also started looking into this aspect.

According to the statement, Azam Khan had handed over the cipher to the ex-PM, who later told him he had misplaced it and did not return it des-pite repeated requests.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2023