By Naveed Naqvi
ISLAMABAD: Two alleged audios of former prime minister Imran Khan surfaced on Friday, featuring him trying to buy the loyalties of lawmakers and also justifying his action ahead of a no-confidence vote in April.
In a new audio, a voice supposedly belonging to PTI chief says: “You have a misunderstanding that now the number game is complete […] don’t think this is over.”
“You see, 48 hours is a long long time. Big things are happening. I am making my own moves that we can’t make public.”
“I am buying 5 MNAs, I have to give a message that these 5 are important ones.”
“I have given the message that those five are very important. And tell them that if they secure these five […] and if he secures 10, then the game will be in our hands. The nation at this moment is alarmed. Across the board, people want us to win somehow.”
“Hence, don’t worry about whether this is right or wrong […] even if they break one, it would create a huge difference,” the voice, believed to be Khan’s, adds.
In April, amid a no-confidence motion against his government by the opposition parties, Khan claimed that he possessed a letter that proved Washington’s involvement in an attempt to oust him from power.
Khan, who was subsequently voted out by Parliament, accused the US of punishing him for pursing “an independent foreign policy.”
Khan, reacting on the latest leak alleged that the PML-N had started a new game of fake audios, saying that it was one of the party’s specialties.
“Maryam Nawaz has made all these fake audios, but remember: nowadays, it is not difficult to make such deepfake videos and we can do the same,” Imran said at a rally in Mianwali.
Senior PTI leader Asad Umar, rejecting the clip as concocted, said the audio was a compilation of talks given on different occasions. “It is a cocktail of disjointed voices,” he said.
Another PTI leader, Fawad Chaudhry, said “everyone knows where and how the audios are being made”.
“Can you justify the NRO 2 by making such audios? It won’t happen. People know where these are being produced and how.”
Later in the day, yet another alleged audio was leaked to social media, purportedly featuring the PTI chief talking about the cipher with party leaders Shireen Mazari and Umar.
In the second clip of the day, the trio are discussing the cipher and allegedly strategising on how to play it up in the public.
“Another point is in hindsight that whatever we are doing now should have been done at least ten days ago,” a voice believed to be of Umar is heard saying.
“The impact of this letter is far-reaching and it has reached all over the world,” a voice allegedly of Khan responded.
Another voice, believed to be of Mazari interrupts, saying, “The Chinese even have issued an official statement condemning the US intervention in the internal affairs of Pakistan.”
The alleged voice of Khan: “the public is with us and we must ensure that the pressure must be at such a height that whoever goes to the assembly for voting must be branded for life and you have to brand them as Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq”. “Spoon-feed people as their minds are currently fertile grounds”.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the latest audio leak had exposed the hypocrisy of Khan.
“Someone who does not tire of lecturing nation on morality is himself blatantly involved in immoral horse trading. His fraudulent nature is being exposed every day. Niazi’s anti-state actions make him unfit for high office,” the PM said in a twitter post.
Last month, a slew of audio recordings of conversations between key government figures were leaked online from the PM’s Office, including discussions between PM Sharif and members of his cabinet.
Sharif ordered an investigation into the leaked audio conversations and called it a “major lapse.” He set up a committee to investigate the leaks and called for a review of cybersecurity at the prime minister’s and other government office.
On Friday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah chaired the first meeting of the high-powered committee on the cyber and electronic security of government offices.
A statement from Sanaullah’s office said the minister had directed the committee to complete its task within two weeks.
“The committee will review the investigation into the cybersecurity breach at the Prime Minister’s House. The committee will also review the existing cybersecurity protocols for the Prime Minister’s Office and House,” the statement said, adding that the committee would formulate an action plan to make cybersecurity protocols foolproof for the future.
“The committee will also formulate recommendations regarding ensuring electronic security of all government offices.”
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