The former Ambassador to the United State says the communication during the meeting between him and Donald Lu was transmitted via the cipher telegram to the secretary of the foreign affairs.
ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Jan 23rd, 2024) Former Pakistan Ambassador to US Asad Majid recorded his statement before a Special Court established under the Official Secret Act and said that there was no references of 'threat or conspiracy' in the secret cipher telegram.
Asad Majeed informed the court that he served as Pakistan's ambassador in the United States from January 2019 to March 2022.
He said that on March 7, 2022, American Assistant Secretary Donald Lu was invited to a working lunch. Asad Majeed clarified that the meeting had been prearranged, hosted at the Pakistan House. The communication during the meeting was transmitted via the cipher telegram to the secretary of the foreign affairs.
Deputy Head of Mission and Defense Attaché were also present at there in the meeting.
It was known to both sides that the minutes of the meeting were being taken.
Asad Majid revealed that the cipher telegram conversation during the meeting was reported in Islamabad.
The ambassador said, “I was summoned to the National Security Committee meeting, where a proposal to issue a demarche was made. The cipher issue was a challenge for Pakistan-U.S. relations,”.
Former Principal Secretary Azam Khan, while recording his statement, mentioned that the Secretary Foreign Office handed the copy of the cipher to former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. He suggested presenting the matter before the then Prime Minister the next morning, and after obtaining a copy from the Foreign Office, they went to the Prime Minister's office.
Besides Asad Majeed, other officials including Faisal Termizi, and Secretary Interior Akbar Durrani were among the other witnesses who recorded their statements.
