Audio leak shatters Imran’s false narrative: Shehbaz

Imran Niazi wasted five months of the nation by concocting lies and propaganda, says PM

By APP
October 01, 2022
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.—APP

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Friday said the ‘false narrative’ of PTI Chairman Imran Khan — declaring the incumbent government a ‘product of conspiracy’ — had totally shattered after the recent audio leak.

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“Imran Niazi wasted five months of the nation by concocting lies and propaganda about his successor government; however, his own audio leak has exposed his fraudulence,” Shehbaz said in his address at the foundation-stone laying ceremony of Bhara Kahu Bypass project.

The prime minister said Imran blamed politicians as traitors but in reality it was he who ‘betrayed the nation’. “Imran’s lies about an ‘imported government’ are, in fact, a conspiracy against the entire nation,” he said, stressing the need for people to understand the reality of a liar.

An alleged sound bite of the former prime minister allegedly telling his then-principal secretary Azam Khan to “play” with the US cipher came to the fore earlier this week. In the audio allegedly featuring Khan, Azam can allegedly be heard talking about the cipher, which Khan — time and again — has claimed mentions the “threat” to remove his government.

Following the leaked audio, Interior Minister Sanaullah — during a press conference in Islamabad — said that if Khan’s audio was real, then he should be exposed before the nation.

Last week, two audios allegedly featuring PM Shehbaz had leaked. The first audio contained a discussion about PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz asking for a power plant from India to be imported for her son-in-law.

The second alleged audio of Sanaullah, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and others was also leaked, and it contained a discussion about the PTI’s resignations.

PM Shehbaz — who recently represented the country at the forums of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the United Nations General Assembly — said the leaders of some friendly countries during the sideline meetings conveyed to him their “annoyance” over the irresponsible foreign policy of Khan.

The prime minister said his government was steadfast in dealing with the immense challenges after the previous government pushed the country to the brink of economic collapse.

He expressed his commitment to rebuilding and developing the country that was bearing the brunt of Khan’s tenure in the government. Before his address, the prime minister was given a briefing on the modalities and execution of Bhara Kahu Bypass project.

It was highlighted that the Rs6 billion project of 5.4 kilometres had been finalised after a transparent bidding process.

The prime minister directed completion of the bypass within four months and also emphasized further reducing the project cost.

The project on completion will provide a big relief to the people travelling towards Murree and Kashmir as the existing road faces massive congestion.

Meanwhile, in a tweet, the prime minister said the Avenfield Reference showed how the system of accountability was misused to discredit and defame PMLN leader Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz.

The prime minister said such a “vendetta-driven” process disrupted democratic evolution in the country and led to political instability.

The Islamabad High Court Thursday acquitted Maryam Nawaz Sharif and her husband Captain (Retd) Safdar in the Avenfield Reference.

The accountability court had sentenced her for a seven-year term in 2008.The prime minister also pointed out that the vendetta-driven process took a terrible toll on politics.

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