Bilawal wants cipher’s judicial inquiry

SUKKUR: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Sunday that the cipher issue was a very serious matter and judges, if necessary, should conduct a judicial inquiry to find out what was the real story behind it.

Speaking to the media after submitting his nomination papers to a returning officer (RO) in Larkana, Bilawal Bhutto said he had submitted his nomination papers for three constituencies of the National Assembly -- Larkana, Qamber-Shahdadkot and Lahore.

Bilawal said it was clear to him that relief was being given to Imran Khan. He said cipher was a classified document and reminded that President Trump had kept some classified documents in his house. “When his term was over and the administration found out that some state documents were kept in the house of former president, the American agencies conducted a raid and seized those documents,” he said.

“Any classified document of Pakistan is the property of the state. The release of such documents may threaten our national security. There should be a full investigation into the cipher case and the public should be informed. This is a serious national security breach,” he added.

“Having been the foreign minister, I know that limited copies of such ciphers are made,” the PPP chairman said, adding that one copy was made for the president, prime minister and foreign minister, and one copy was sent to the security agencies, if the matter was relevant to them.

“There is a track record of all documents in this case, except for the one sent to Imran Khan as the prime minister,” he claimed.

Khan himself told the media that he had lost the cipher. “The day Imran Khan was arrested, cipher was leaked to the international media,” he claimed.

The PPP chairman said the court should also take the issue seriously, as it had raised questions about the national security. “The government should investigate or judges themselves should conduct a judicial inquiry to find out what is the real story behind the cipher,” he urged.

Bilawal said his party was the only political party that was looking only towards the people for victory in the February 8 elections. He said his party had unwavering faith in the people of Pakistan, and he was contesting the election so that salaries of employees could be increased, farmers and labourers could be given their rights, three million houses could be built for poor families, world-class health facilities could be made available to common people free-of-cost, and youth could be provided jobs and business opportunities.

Bilawal made it clear that his party was contesting the election on its own, and it had not decided about an alliance with any other party. “I have been saying that we may have differences with a party leader but not with a political worker. I am asking all political workers to come and fight elections with us,” he added.

In response to a question, the PPP chairman said that (until recently) Nawaz Sharif’s slogan was Mujhe Kyoon Nikala but now, after the election, his slogan would be Mujhe Kyoon Bulaya. He said the electoral symbol bat was added to the list only to benefit Imran Khan. Otherwise, in the previous elections, the symbol was not a part of the list issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan.