Treason talk

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has categorically denied his government’s involvement in the audio leaks featuring former prime minister Imran Khan, saying he wouldn’t have released his own audios if his government were behind this. In a detailed presser, the prime minister spared few words when talking about Imran Khan, calling him a liar and a fraud, and saying that what the former PM did with the entire cipher issue put the country’s foreign relations at stake and was the worst form of dishonesty – and was in fact treason. While the PDM government has a strong case to make in calling out Imran and the PTI’s false narrative about a foreign conspiracy to oust Imran and the way it damaged Pakistan’s foreign relations, legal and political observers are quick to warn that building an Article 6 case against Imran is a slippery slope the government must avoid. That said, there must be an inquiry, especially to confirm and determine whether the minutes of the meeting were changed and the contents of the cipher manipulated. There is little doubt that there was no foreign conspiracy. This should have been clear after two NSC meetings and as well as a categorical denial by the DG ISPR that this was indeed a lie. But it is alarming that a principal secretary assured a prime minister that the minutes were in his hands. This angle needs to be probed.

The way Imran Khan and the PTI twisted a regular cable from our ambassador to the US and accused the then-opposition of colluding with a foreign power was extremely irresponsible and dangerous – just because of the successful execution of a vote of no-confidence against his government. This is not politics. This is playing with the future of the country. PM Shehbaz in his press conference, which seemed more of a detailed charge sheet against Imran and his politics, also pointed to the PTI’s mishandling of the IMF deal and took a jibe also at President Alvi for dilly-dallying over the PDM government decisions while quickly approving the dissolution of assemblies initiated by the PTI government. Interestingly, President Alvi too was active yesterday – attending a sparsely attended joint session of parliament, and urging parliamentarians to end the increasing polarization in the country and also decide on a date for the next elections. The session was boycotted by the PPP, PML-N and JUI-F members. Ironic: a president who talks about polarization but doesn’t acknowledge that his own party leadership is responsible for this.

What is quite apparent is that the PML-N is now in an aggressive mode. Ever since Maryam Nawaz’s conviction was overturned and Dar returned to Pakistan, the government now looks more confident. The PTI, on the other hand, is still contemplating what to do next, when to give a call for a long march. Some observers believe that it is waiting for a ‘green signal’ since what indeed is a PTI long march without the support it usually relies on? October will be interesting because of what is supposed to happen in November. The PTI’s long march is related to November in many ways. The government is also ready to give the PTI a tough time if it comes to Islamabad. Will we ever see an end to this sort of vicious politics or the now overused cipher debate that needs to be put to rest once and for all? Unlikely, going by the flexing of muscles all around.