Maryam calls for teaching ‘traitor’ Imran a lesson

Interior minister says PTI chief had been ‘deceiving’ the people

ISLAMABAD:

The PML-N-led government on Wednesday lashed out at PTI Chairman Imran Khan after a controversial audio leak purportedly featuring him surfaced on Wednesday, calling the deposed premier a “traitor”, and saying that the development "laid bare" his "entire narrative of foreign conspiracy".

Earlier in the day, an audio conversation believed to be of Imran and his former principal secretary Azam Khan surfaced on social media, about a cypher that the former premier had long emphasised as evidence of a “foreign conspiracy” to oust him from the office.

In the audio clip, a voice, seemingly of Imran’s, is heard saying: “We only have to play on this. We don’t have to name [any country]. We only have to play with this, that this date was [decided] before.

“The new thing that will emerge is that the letter …”

Read Imran Khan sends diplomatic cypher to CJP

PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz sought a “strict action” against the PTI chief, alleging that he had wreaked havoc on the country.

"If this traitor Imran is not taught a lesson even after all kinds of serious crimes that have been proved today, then all of us will be considered responsible for the destruction of the country," Maryam wrote on her official Twitter handle.

اگر آج ہر طرح کا سنگین جرم ثابت ہونے کے بعد بھی اس غدار عمران کو عبرت کا نشان نہیں بنایا جاتا تو پھر ملک کی تباہی کا ذمہ دار ہم سب کو سمجھا جائے گا۔

— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) September 28, 2022

She said a country of 220 million remained "hostage" for four years in the hands of "an incompetent traitor", who she claimed left no stone unturned in destroying the country.

22 کڑوڑ کا ملک 4 سال ایک نااہل، نا ہنجار اور غدار کے ہاتھوں میں گروی رہا۔اس نے داخلی اور خارجی سطح پر ملک کو تباہ کرنے میں کوئی کسر نہیں چھوڑی اور ثاقب نثار جیسوں نے اسے صادق و آمین قرار دیا؟ کونسا جرم ہے جو اس پر ثابت نہیں ہوا؟ وہ خود کہ رہا ہے کہ میں نے عوام کے ساتھ کھیلنا ہے۔

— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) September 28, 2022

"People like [former chief justice] Saqib Nisar declared him (Imran Khan) sadiq and ameen… what crime has not been proven against him? He himself is saying that he will play with the public," she stated.

تکلیف دہ بات یہ نہیں کہ ایک غیر ملکی تربیت یافتہ، فارن فنڈڈ فتنے نے پاکستان کی تقدیر سے کھیلا،اس نے تو یہی کرنا تھا کیونکہ ملک میں انتشار پھیلانے کے عوض اس نے لاکھوں ڈالر پکڑے ہوئے تھے،تشویشناک پہلو یہ کہ عمران غدار وہ سب کرتا رہا اور سب چپ کر کے دیکھتے رہے۔

— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) September 28, 2022

"The sad thing is not that a foreign-trained and funded person played with the destiny of Pakistan as he had taken millions of dollars for creating chaos in the country. The worrying aspect is that Imran continued to do all that and everyone watched silently."

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said the leak had "laid bare" Imran's "entire narrative of foreign conspiracy".

Addressing a news conference, the PML-N leader accused the former premier of dividing the nation and ridiculed him over his recurring "excuse" of him and his government “falling prey to a foreign conspiracy". “Today, his entire scheme has been laid bare,” he said.

The interior minister said publicising “each and every word of the audio” was mandatory to “expose the fraud being done by this conspirator”.

After playing the leaked audio before the media, Sanaullah said the conversation was proof that "they [the PTI] were trying to create a plot".

Also read: Another audio leak surfaces, reportedly of Imran discussing 'foreign conspiracy' cypher

Sanaullah alleged that the former premier had instructed his principal secretary to play with the cypher.

“For the past six months, this swindler has been deceiving the public. During his tenure, he destroyed the country’s economy, the political culture and isolated Pakistan on a foreign level, which is why India decided to attack Kashmir, while our country was in a vulnerable state,” he said.

“He has caused irreparable damage to Pakistan politically, morally and economically,” he added.

PML-N leader Azma Bukhari demanded that Imran and other PTI leaders should be called to appear before the committee that Premier Shehbaz Sharif constituted to probe the audio leaks linked to the Prime Minister’s Office.

Meanwhile, PDM President and JUI-F emir Maulana Fazlur Rehman, in his response to the audio leaks controversy, said that they would soon call a meeting of the alliance and update policy matters.

"We are trying to take the nation out of the chaos of internal division and lead it towards national unity so that the political and economic crises can be overcome," he added.