Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Umar has been arrested from Islamabad in the cipher case, as the authorities ramp up efforts to resolve the pressing matter.
Umar's arrest comes a day after senior party leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi and PTI Chairman Imran Khan were arrested in connection with an investigation.
Khan — ousted via a parliamentary vote in April last year — had alleged on March 27, 2022, that Washington orchestrated a plan to remove him from office — and brandished the cipher at a public rally to back his claims. The US has time and again denied such allegations, terming them "categorically false".
Both Qureshi and Khan were booked after a first information report (FIR) against the PTI chairman — registered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) — invoked Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act 1923.
Umar has been a close aide of the PTI chief and formerly held the post of the party's general secretary. However, following his arrest during the May 9 riots, in which PTI workers attacked government and military installations, he stepped down from his party positions.
"Given the current situation [...] after May 9, it is not personally possible for me to continue performing my party leadership duties," the former federal minister said.
"I am resigning as the secretary general of PTI and as the core committee member. One of the reasons why is [...] I am outspoken and I cannot issue personal statements if I hold an office."
