Follow Us on Google News
Pakistan has been working for the strengthening and sustainability of relations with the United Nations for the past several years.
Over the years, there has been an element of tension in Pakistan’s relations with its friends and partner countries, however, due to the unquestionable importance of Pakistan, influential countries are reluctant to completely ignore Islamabad.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan first raised the alarm about the US conspiracy to gain political advantage, and when there was no political success in it, Imran Khan turned all these accusations towards country’s own institutions and awarded titles like Mir Sadiq and Mir Jafar to the heads of military institutions.
In the political storm, accusations of fake stories regarding the cipher continued to come out from the opponents of Imran Khan, but the Chairman PTI continued to declare the cipher as fact. However, after the statement of Azam Khan, the former principal secretary of the Prime Minister of the previous government, before the magistrate, this matter has become very clear, which cannot be denied and cannot be challenged in any court.
It is very sad that Imran Khan jeopardized the relationship between Pakistan and America just to save his power. As a former ambassador, Rakim al-Haruf is a witness that many times off-the-record people used to discuss many issues with us, in which if there was something important, we would mention it in cipher.
It is unthinkable to use the cipher’s content for one’s own interests and the important thing here is that the person accused was no more than an Additional Secretary. By turning Donald Lu’s brief statement into a conspiracy against Pakistan, it is not the US that has harmed the cordial relations between Pakistan and the US for years.
Chapter 1 of the UN Charter makes it clear that no sovereign state can be interfered in. If we accept the cipher as fact, it would be in the category of violation of international laws, but Pakistan had to pay the price of the baseless accusations related to the cipher in the form of tension in friendly relations with the US for years.
In different countries of the world, the Official Secrets Act is implemented in different ways. In Pakistan, the Official Secrets Act of 1923 is in force, which stipulates strict restrictions and punishments.
According to diplomatic rules and etiquette, if an ambassador posted in a country sends a cable or cipher, its classification is not less than secret or top secret, and there are restrictions on copying it. Even if it is duplicated as required, its classification is the same and counting is also done in the same way.
Former Principal Secretary Azam Khan or anyone else was not authorized to leave a sensitive document anywhere and no one from the Prime Minister down is allowed to keep a sensitive document. An example of this in America is former President Donald Trump, who took some documents with him during his tenure, due to which he is facing serious difficulties today.
Arrests and investigations will take place only after the registration of cases under the Official Secrets Act against the masterminds of the cipher. It is possible that more facts regarding this case will come to light.
There is a safe room in the Foreign Office for the cipher coming from the ambassadors outside the country, where the cipher is decoded and then it is converted into words and presented to the competent authority i.e. the Foreign Secretary.
The Foreign Secretary, along with the President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, briefs the heads of the military agencies on the nature of the matter, but it is kept strictly confidential under the Official Secrets Act or SOPs.
After the specified period, the competent authority has the discretion to decode or destroy the cipher and if anything is leaked in the whole process, it falls under Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act and the same Official Secrets Act also prescribes its punishment. Now it is the responsibility of the investigating agencies to connect the links and get to the bottom of the matter and all the characters involved in the matter should be investigated.
I, as an ambassador sent several messages to the government of Pakistan that if they were displayed somewhere, it might have caused problems for the country under the Geneva Convention and I could have been declared a persona non grata as an ambassador, which could have caused loss to the country.
During my service as an ambassador in the United Nations and various countries, there is no example of leaking ciphers or cables can be quoted in such a way Imran Khan did for political purposes.
People will hesitate to talk to our ambassadors because they will have the idea that the conversation with the Pakistani ambassadors may be leaked.
Establishing and maintaining relations between nations is a very difficult matter because the course of relations between two countries is related to mutual interests, so it is necessary to adhere to diplomatic etiquette. The drama of cipher is a very serious matter in Pakistan. Such cases and accusations can sometimes lead to wars.
The game of cipher has caused Pakistan a lot of embarrassment in the international community and the turn in relations is different. It will take some time for Pakistan to recover from the damage caused by cipher.
The conspiracy of the cipher had also taken America by surprise and the the authorities must have faced difficulties in satisfying their people, so it is difficult to end the effects of this cipher immediately and the losses of this conspiracy may have to be borne by Pakistan in the future.
Translated by MM News editorial team
