Magistrate who took Azam Khan statement testifies today

ISLAMABAD: The magistrate who recorded the statement of Azam Khan in July last year will appear today (Monday) before the trial court hearing the cipher case in order to testify the testimony given by the former principal secretary.

With this, Azam Khan’s statement given under Section 164 of CrPC before the magistrate will become evidence that the court can rely upon. Awaid Irshad Bhatti, 1st class magistrate of Industrial Area of the federal capital, is one of the witnesses the FIA has decided to present before the Special Court’s Judge, Abual Hasnat Zulqurnain, who is hearing the cipher case in Adiala Jail.

The former principal secretary recorded his statement before the special court late Thursday, which made headlines giving the impression that a little amendment he made in it, departing from the previous statement he gave under sections 161 and 164 of the CrPC, could bring a big relief for beleaguered Imran Khan. However, the prosecutors think it would make no impact on the case as he didn’t amend the facts he had narrated earlier.

Nevertheless, the FIA enlisted the magistrate and its investigation officers among the witnesses to be recorded before the special court’s judge. Mian Sabir Hussain, the FIA’s investigation officer in the case, is also among those who will testify before the special court about the statement that Azam Khan recorded under Section 161 of the CrPC. It is not yet clear when Mian Sabir will testify. Azam Khan is not the only one who recorded the statement before him.

The late Thursday’s appearance before the special court of the former principal secretary and interpretation of his statement being made by the media and PTI suggest it will turn out as a game-changer for Imran Khan.

According to a well-placed FIA official, Azam has not, as a matter of fact, amended any of the facts he narrated earlier as a witness and they were related to his direct role in the case as the recipient of the cipher from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, handing it over to Imran Khan and the latter’s failure to return it to Azam.

Also, he mentioned that the meeting took place on March 28, 2022 whose minutes were recorded by him and subsequently placed before the cabinet and National Security Council. In his statements recorded under sections 161 and 164 of CrPC, he gave his opinion that the copy of the cipher which Imran claimed had been misplaced was waved at a rally the former PM conducted on March 27, 2022. He didn’t reiterate that before the special judge. Likewise, he didn’t include his earlier opinion that Imran wanted to malign the state institution.

An FIA official said the opinions he gave by corroborating facts are not prosecution-worthy but his eye-witness account with regard to the cipher is and this has not been changed. There are another three star-witnesses who will testify before the special court. They are Asad Majeed (former ambassador to the US), Sohail Ahmed (former foreign secretary) and Faisal Tirmizi (former additional secretary).