No reference to conspiracy and threat in cipher, says ex-envy Asad Majeed Khan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States, Asad Majeed Khan, has revealed that there was no reference to the words “threat” or “conspiracy” in the secret cipher telegram, nor did he make any suggestions regarding the existence of any conspiracy.

“It’s a political conclusion drawn by the leadership [the PTI chairman] in Islamabad,” Majeed stated in his testimony provided to the FIA investigation team.

The former envoy clarified, “I simply reported the conversation held during the lunch accurately to Islamabad in this cipher telegram. Sending cipher messages is a routine practice for diplomatic missions abroad. There was no reference to the words “threat” or “conspiracy” in the secret cipher telegram, nor did I make any suggestion regarding the existence of any conspiracy. It was a political conclusion drawn by the leadership in Islamabad. I had suggested that a demarche should be issued to the US, both in Islamabad and in Washington.”

He further detailed in his statement that the views expressed by Donald Lu were responded to in the form of a demarche issued on March 31, 2022, after the National Security Council (NSC) meeting in Islamabad.

“The NSC meeting repeatedly also concluded that the matter merited a demarche only and found no conspiracy,” asserted Asad Majeed Khan.

“Another NSC meeting was also held on April 22, 2022, in which I participated. In that meeting, after reviewing the contents of the cipher telegram, discussing the matter in detail, and obtaining input from heads of intelligence agencies, it was again concluded that there was no foreign conspiracy for regime change in Pakistan,” he further stated.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated this position in its press briefing on April 25, 2022. I did not meet or communicate directly or indirectly with ex-PM or ex-SPM during the period from March 7, 2022, to date. As a foreign service professional, I believe that the cipher episode has undermined the integrity of our communication system, the credibility of our diplomats, and diplomacy, with adverse implications for our future diplomatic reporting culture,” read the statement.

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He further elaborated, “I was an officer in BS-22 from the Foreign Service of Pakistan and I served as foreign secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, Islamabad, from December 2022 until my retirement. Prior to this posting, I was the ambassador of Pakistan to the USA from January 2019 to March 2022. I had invited the Assistant Secretary for South & Central Asian Affairs under the US Department of State, Mr. Donald Lu, on March 7, 2022. It was a preplanned lunch hosted by me at the Pakistan House in Washington for the US team dealing with Pakistan, which was scheduled for about 12:30 hours. It lasted for one and a half hours. The invitees/participants of this lunch were Assistant Secretary of State Mr. Donald Lu, accompanied/assisted by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Lesslie Viguerie. From our side, it was myself, Defence Attaché Brig. Nauman Awan, Deputy Chief of Mission Naveed Bokhari, and Counsellor Political Qasim Mohiuddin. Both sides were aware that the conversation was being recorded, as is the standard practice on such occasions. There was no special occasion. It was part of the regular consultations held with US interlocutors, including the White House, Department of Defence, USTR, in addition to the State Department.”

He said: “This was a practice adopted during Covid because of the US side’s inability to host meetings at their premises. The conversation covered the whole range of issues in our bilateral relations. Consequently, communication was sent to Islamabad covering the lunch. The subject communication was a cipher telegram addressed to the foreign secretary, who then shared its copies with others in line with his competence. It was sent through our secret coded communication system, used for corresponding with Foreign Missions of Pakistan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad, in compliance with the documented instructions of the Cabinet Division.”