Former bureaucrat Azam Khan recorded his statement in the Cipher Case on Saturday in a markedly softer tone than his earlier statement.

Azam Khan, who was the principal secretary to then Prime Minister Imran Khan, appeared in the special court in Adiala Jail to record his statement in the Cipher case.

He omitted parts of his earlier statement where he had said that Khan had used the cipher for political gains. He also did not mention that the aim of the cipher narrative was to put pressure on the military leadership.

Khan told the court that the PTI chairman had said that American authorities had committed a blunder by sending out instructions in the cipher and it could be used to expose the conspiracy behind the no-confidence motion.

Azam Khan also told the court that Imran Khan had held out the piece of paper in a rally in Islamabad but had neither opened it or read its contents out aloud.

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However, the bureaucrat did tell the court that the copy of the cipher that had reached the PM house had gone missing according to Imran Khan. He said that he believed that the copy had to be returned in one year but was not sent back as long as he was in office.

He also said that Imran Khan had had told his military secretary and other staff members to locate the missing copy multiple times.

The former bureaucrat also said that the statements under 161 and 164 that he had given earlier were not given under oath.

As the authorities had tightened control over Imran Khan and his party after May 9, Azam Khan had gone ‘missing’ only to suddenly turn approver against Khan.

He had recorded a statement to a judicial magistrate in the cipher case and also testified against Khan in the National Accountability Bureau in the Toshakhana case.

The cipher case accuses Imran Khan of illegally retaining and communicating a classified diplomatic cable written by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington. According to Khan, the cipher is ‘proof’ of an American backed conspiracy to topple his government.