Two audio leaks in a day put Imran in a tight spot

ISLAMABAD: The two audio clips, purportedly of PTI Chairman Imran Khan and two other key leaders, surfaced back to back on Friday, pushing him in a tight spot amid a raging cipher issue.

In the first clip, Imran is heard talking about the buying of votes, “Don’t worry about whether this is right or wrong”. The second alleged audio was leaked to the social media. The latest series of recordings purportedly feature Imran talking about the cipher with Asad Umar and Dr. Shireen Mazari. In the latest clip, the trio are heard discussing the cipher and allegedly strategising on how to play it up in the public.

At the start of the audio, the voice believed to be of Asad Umar is heard saying, “Another point is in hindsight that whatever we are doing now should have been done at least 10 days ago”. Imran purportedly responds, “The impact of this letter is far-reaching and it has reached all over the world”.

Then 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”. Imran then allegedly details the strategy, saying, “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”.

Then he purportedly presses his party leaders to spoon-feed people as their minds are currently fertile grounds. Earlier in the day, in an audio leak of 54 seconds, Imran purportedly discusses buying 05 and numbers game.

“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,” Imran purportedly says in the clip. The PTI chairman allegedly says he is buying 05.

“I have given the message that those 05 are very important. And tell them that if they secure these 05 … 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, purportedly of Imran is heard.

In all, four audio clips featuring Imran, have appeared so far. Out of these clips, three focus on the cipher while the fourth allegedly on horse-trading. PTI senior leader Fawad Chaudhry did not disavow the contents of the latest audio (third) clip on ‘horse-trading’ but said ‘everyone knows where and how the audios are being made’. In a tweet, he wondered, “by joining voices such as these, will you prove NRO 2 to be valid”.