WASHINGTON: The State Department on Wednesday again rebuffed the allegations levelled by former premier Imran Khan regarding the US cipher following fresh claims by a close aide of the ex-prime minister.
State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller was asked to comment on the confessional statement recorded by Azam Khan — Imran›s ex-principal secretary — before a magistrate in which he blamed his boss for manipulating the cable for his political goals and building an anti-establishment narrative.
It coincided with a similar comment by a US Department official who had termed the whole cipher thing with Pakistan “fake”.
“So there is a lot of similarities between the deputy assistant secretary and the [Pakistani] interior minister. So the cipher was fake, basically?”
To this, Miller said: «I don’t know how many times I can respond to this question from the podium and give the same answer, which is that these allegations, such as they are, are completely unfounded.»
The US official skipped answering when posed another question regarding sedition charges on Imran on the basis of the confession made by his former aide.
“I will take your word for it.” Miller also clarified that the US doesn’t get involved in domestic political issues and doesn’t take sides on political parties in Pakistan or any other country.
