Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Thursday said that under the Official Secrets Act, there is a two-year sentence for losing the cypher and there is also a 14-year sentence if the secret document was made public for ulterior motives.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Tarar clarified that the cypher, an official classified document, can neither be made public nor shared with anyone, saying that Imran was summoned by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for interrogation on July 25 in this regard.
Azam Nazeer Tarar accused Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman of jeopardising national security by exposing a classified document for political purposes, saying that punishment for such a crime can be up to 14 years imprisonment.
He said it was unfortunate that PTI Chairman used cipher for political gains. He reiterated government's resolve to carry out investigation of the cipher case strictly in accordance with law. He said enquiry and investigation of the case will be on merit.
Read: PTI chief can be arrested if fails to cooperate in cipher probe: Rana Sanaullah
The Minister said former Law Minister misused the cipher on the floor of the House. He said government followed the course of law and enquiry was initiated by FIA.
Tarar said that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) will decide to convert the investigation against cypher into criminal proceedings.
He said that former prime minister Imran Khan used the cypher to undermine national security.
Tarar said that the government wants the inquiry to fulfil merit criteria. He added that the investigation by the FIA was underway.
The minister said the former prime minister was called for a statement and the decision to convert the inquiry into criminal proceedings will be taken by the FIA.
