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WASHINGTON: The US State Department has again rebuffed allegations levelled by former prime minister Imran Khan regarding the diplomatic cypher.
The remarks came following fresh claims by a close aide of the ex-prime minister, Azam Khan, who served as principal secretary when Imran Khan was in office, that the cypher was used to twist the narrative and avoid a no-confidence motion.
During the regular press briefing, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller was asked to comment on the confessional statement recorded by Azam Khan and whether the cypher was “fake”.
The spokesperson was asked to comment on the statement by US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Horst who said the “whole cipher thing with Pakistan is fake and her boss, Donald Lu, is innocent”.
“And today the interior minister of Pakistan says that the secretary of Imran Khan, who’s gone missing for a month, has now stated in front of the police that Imran Khan basically told him that this whole cipher thing, let’s make up this thing, and try to pressurize the military.”
“So there is a lot of similarities between the deputy assistant secretary and the [Pakistani] interior minister. So the cypher was fake, basically?” the journalist asked.
To this, Miller said: “I don’t know how many times I can respond to this question from the podium and give the same answer, which is that these allegations, such as they are, are completely unfounded.”
The US official skipped answering when posed another question regarding sedition charges on Imran on the basis of the confession made by his former aide. “I will take your word for it,” the US spokesperson said.
Miller also clarified that the US doesn’t get involved in domestic political issues and doesn’t take sides on political parties in Pakistan or any other country.
“I will say, as I have said before, that the US does not involve itself with domestic political questions, and we do not take sides on political parties in Pakistan or any other country.”
