Who is Azam Khan?

Azam Khan, the principal secretary to former prime minister Imran Khan, turned as a witness against the PTI chairman by issuing a confessional statement.

Azam Khan confessed that the diplomatic cypher was used for political purposes to avoid the no-confidence motion and build a narrative of foreign conspiracy.

It must be mentioned Azam Khan went missing over a month ago in Islamabad under mysterious circumstances and an FIR was registered at Kohsar police station over the ‘kidnapping’ of the bureaucrat.

A confessional statement attributed to him has been issued in which Azam Khan confessed that Imran Khan said he will use the diplomatic cypher in front of the public to “twist the narrative” that a foreign conspiracy is being hatched in collusion with the opposition.

Azam said he advised the prime minister that the cypher was a secret document and its content cannot be disclosed. On 28 March 2022, a meeting was held at Bani Gala during which the foreign secretary read the cypher and it was decided to place the matter before the federal cabinet.

The special cabinet meeting was held on 30 March 2022, where the Foreign Office representative again read the cypher and briefed the cabinet.  The meeting decided the matter will be taken up by the National Security Committee.

On 31 March, the NSC meeting was held where the cypher was again read and minuted by National Security Division. Azam Khan said the cypher “lost’ by PM Imran Khan was not returned until he served as principal secretary despite repeated requests.

Azam Khan – brief profile

Muhammad Azam Khan is a Grade 22 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service. He has previously served as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister in Imran Khan’s government

Prior to his stint in the federal government, he served as Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He was nominated as the Executive Director World Bank in February, 2022 but his appointment was cancelled by the PML-N federal government in August,2022. [3][4]

He was born into a Pashtun family of the Yusufzai tribe in a village near Mardan. He received his education from Army Burn Hall College, and master’s degree from Quaid-e-Azam University with international relations

He secured first rank in Central Superior Services in 1991 and was initially posted as District Management Group (DMG). He served at various positions throughout his career such as assistant commissioner for Chunian and Taxila, and was later appointed as deputy commissioner for Peshawar in 1999 and additional chief secretary for Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

He was also appointed as secretary for sports, tourism, and youth affairs, and home, in addition to secretary for tribal affairs. In 2018, he was appointed as principal secretary to the prime minister’s office with grade 21, although Pakistan’s federal bureaucracy position requires grade 22

In 2019, he allegedly added his own name to the Grade 22 promotion list prepared by the High Powered Selection Board (HPSB) headed by the prime minister with other board members, including principal secretary Azam Khan himself.

In October 2018, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) charged him for his alleged role in signing a 33-year lease deal comprising 275 kanals in Malam Jabba.

The anti-corruption agency dropped the charges against him and other PTI officials including Mahmood Khan and Pervez Khattak in 2021 after a special committee formed by the Peshawar High Court recommended the agency to close the case.