Pak's outgoing Interior Minister calls for probe into authenticity of source document of U.S. media report on controversial diplomatic cable

Outgoing Interior Minister Sanaullah calls for probe to verify U.S. conspiracy to topple Khan's govt. Khan brandished a "secret" document to back his claims. U.S. denies allegations, State Dept. unable to verify document's authenticity. Sanaullah suggests Khan be tried under Official Secret Act if guilty.

Pakistan's outgoing Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on August 10 called for a probe to determine the authenticity of the source document used in a news report by an American publication claiming to contain the evidence of a U.S. conspiracy to topple Imran Khan’s government last year.

In a series of tweets, Mr. Sanaullah said, "Potentially, it is a very sinister, treacherous, and seditious act."

"Though there is nothing new in this story, the investigation needs to be held to establish the authenticity of the information or source document," he said.

Mr. Sanaullah was referring to a report published in The Intercept, an online U.S.-based news organisation, which claimed to have obtained the "secret" document that, according to former Prime Minister Khan, led to the fall of his government in April last year.

Mr. Khan, 70, is currently serving a three-year jail term after he was sentenced by a court in a corruption case last week.

The purported cipher (secret diplomatic cable) contained an account of a meeting between U.S. State Department officials, including Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, and Pakistani envoy Asad Majeed Khan.

"The U.S. State Department encouraged the Pakistani government in a March 7, 2022, meeting to remove Imran Khan as Prime Minister over his neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine," The Intercept reported on August 9, citing the "classified Pakistani government document".