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Lettergate was an American-Pakistani political affair set off by a conversation at a farewell lunch for Asad Majeed Khan, then-Pakistani ambassador to the United States, on 7 March 2022 at Khan's official residence known as the Pakistan House. [1] [2] A diplomatic telegram (Cypher No. I-0678) [3] was sent by Ambassador Khan to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs based on the notes taken by a note-taker from the embassy of Pakistan based in Washington, D.C. [1] The telegram allegedly stated that in the course of the meeting, the United States had expressed a desire to the government of Pakistan for prime minister Imran Khan to be removed from office because of his neutral stance on the war between Russia and Ukraine and refusal to back the Ukrainians, promising warmer relations if Pakistan agrees while threatening isolation if it does not. [4] The lunch was attended by US officials including then US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu and Deputy Assistant Secretary Lesslie Viguerie. The Pakistani diplomats attending the lunch meeting included Deputy Chief of Mission Syed Naveed Bokhari and the defence attaché. [1] [5] [6] [7]
The meeting was deemed a "blatant interference" by the 37th National Security Council of Pakistan [8] [7] and resulted in a strong démarche to the US chargé d'affaires. [9] The 38th National Security Council reaffirmed the previous council's assessment but deemed that "no evidence of any foreign conspiracy" was found. [10] [11] The former prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan (PTI), alleged that the events of the meeting were an attempt to influence his foreign policy, [12] and the content of the letter confirmed a conspiracy to remove him from office through a parliamentary vote of no confidence in favor of the members of the Pakistan Democratic Movement. [13] He also alleged that the letter stated that if the vote of no confidence failed, Pakistan would face dire consequences. [14] The US Spokesperson for the Department of State, Ned Price, denied the allegations, saying "there is absolutely no truth to that allegation." [15] [16]
On 10 May, the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif (PMLN, PDM), addressed the National Assembly and acknowledged the letter was genuine, but said there was no conspiracy. [17]
The complete contents of the letter are protected under Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 of Pakistan, and have not been disclosed. [30] However, selected components have been spoken about through various interviews, speeches and public statements.
The former Prime Minister Imran Khan and members of his cabinet said that the letter demanded the removal of the Prime Minister and, if Khan remained the prime minister, it would lead to horrific consequences. [31]
It also said that “if the no-confidence vote against the prime minister succeeds, all will be forgiven in Washington", a reference to Pakistan's stance on the Russia-Ukraine war. [32]
On 10 May 2022, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif addressed the National Assembly and acknowledged the letter was threatening, but said the notes did not involve a conspiracy or treason. [17] [33]
On 9 August 2023, the alleged cypher was published in full by The Intercept . [4]
On 29 March 2022, the Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar, said Prime Minister Khan would share the letter with the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Umar Ata Bandial. [14] The PTI government urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan to set up an independent Judicial Commission to investigate the letter. [34] The Chief Justice received the letter, however did not comment or form any commission. [35] [36]
The PTI government also turned to retired Lieutenant General Tariq Khan to head a separate commission to investigate the letter. [37] [38] However, the commission failed to form, as Lieutenant General Khan cited the army warned him not to be politicized, [39] and there was not enough time to properly investigate under the current government. [39] [40] In an open letter, Gen. Khan wrote, "I have no connections with any politicians or political party, am known to be apolitical...I was more than willing to undertake this task," however "it appeared that the Government would not last for more than a day or two" so he could not continue. [39]
On 6 May 2022, the newly formed PDM government announced the formation of a probe to investigate the alleged foreign conspiracy. [41] This was rejected in a press conference by former Minister of Information Fawad Chaudry, who reiterated that they "will only consider commission formed under [an] independent judiciary which will have an open hearing." [42] The PTI members "questioned how the FIA, which is under Shehbaz Sharif, can hold a probe into the cipher" and any probe by this government would be biased as they were the beneficiaries of the alleged conspiracy. [42]
The former Prime Minister Khan, in separate letters written to the President of Pakistan and Chief Justice on 30 April 2022, again urged the formation of an independent Judicial Commission. [43] [44]
On 10 May 2022, in a public statement, President Arif Alvi verified the contents of the letter and urged Chief Justice Umar Bandial to hold an open hearing. [45] [46] He "underscored that threats could both be covert and overt and in this particular case, it was clearly communicated through undiplomatic and informal language." [45]
In August 2023, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) filed a first information report (FIR) under the Official Secrets Act against former Prime Minister Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi. The FIR alleged that both improperly communicated information from a classified document – a cipher telegram received from Washington on March 7, 2022 – to unauthorized people and compromised state security. [47]
Subsequently, a special court was established to conduct in-camera hearings for cases under the Official Secrets Act. [47] By October 2023, both were formally indicted, with charges stating that Khan had unlawfully retained and disseminated the classified information. [47] [48] In November 2023, the Islamabad High Court declared the proceedings illegal, requiring the trial to restart. [47] The special court reindicted both in December 2023. [47]
On December 22, the Supreme Court granted post-arrest bail to Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi on surety bonds of Rs 1 million each. [47] The court cited insufficient evidence to prove that Khan had disclosed the information to the public or foreign entities and noted that the information did not pertain to defense matters. [47] However, the court acknowledged the need for further investigation, deferring the final determination to the trial court after evidence was reviewed. [47]
Despite the bail, Khan remained detained due to other ongoing cases, and Qureshi faced delays in his release due to his indiction in May 9 riots case. [47] On 28 December 2023, the Islamabad High Court issued a stay order on the in-camera proceedings, citing legal errors. [47] This stay was lifted on January 11, 2024, after assurances were made to record witness statements anew. [47]
By January 18, 2024, statements from five witnesses, including former principal secretary Azam Khan, had been recorded. [47] The trial faced challenges, including the absence of lead counsel for Khan and claims of partiality in the judicial process. [47]
On January 30, 2024, a special court sentenced Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi to ten years in prison in the cipher case. [48] The trial was held behind a closed-door and multiple observors questioned the fairness of the trial process. [47] [48] Subsequently, both filed an appeal in the Islamabad High Court and, in June 2024, the high court acquitted both in cypher case and order their release from prison. [49]
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He is the founder and former chairman of the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from 1996 to 2023. He was the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is a political party in Pakistan established in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer and politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The PTI ranks among the three major Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML–N) and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), and it is the largest party in terms of representation in the National Assembly of Pakistan since the 2018 general election. With a claimed membership of over 10 million in Pakistan, it claims to be one of the country's largest political parties by primary membership.
Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar is a Pakistani politician who recently served as Pakistan's Federal Minister for Industries & Production. Previously, he has served as Federal Minister of Economic Affairs, Federal Minister of National Food Security and Research and Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms in the PTI Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan. He had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2002 to 2008, 2013 to 2018 and 2018 till 2023.
Donald Lu is a United States diplomat serving as Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs since 2021. He previously served as both the United States Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan from 2018 to 2021 and the United States Ambassador to Albania from 2015 to 2018.
Asad Umar is a Pakistani former business executive and politician who served as the Finance, Revenue, and Economic Affairs Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to April 2019 and the Federal Minister for Planning, Development, Reforms and Special Initiatives from November 2019 to April 2022. Prior to entering politics, he served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Engro from 2004 to 2012.
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