PM Shehbaz lambasts Imran for ‘buying five votes’

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lambasted on Saturday Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan over his alleged audio leak, calling him a “fraud and a liar”.

Speaking to the media on Saturday, the PM said that the PTI chairman was bidding for people in the PM house, saying that Imran set up a market of buying and selling and consciences were being sold.

"Could there be a bigger crime than this by a sitting PM,” PM Shehbaz said.

New leaked audiotape reveals IK’s ‘Mir Jafar, Mir Sadiq’ anti-PDM strategy

Shehbaz said that in the recent audio, Imran himself said that he bought five votes.

"From where did the money come, such a big crime, what will be a bigger crime than a PM saying ‘I have bought five votes’.

“From where did you arrange the money, from the national treasury or Farah Gogi and others giving jewels?"

On Friday, two other alleged audio leaks featuring Imran, former Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari, and former Planning Minister Asad Umar, made rounds on social media, where the PTI chief is purportedly directing his party’s leaders to “brand” people as Mir Jaffer and Mir Sadiq ahead of the no-confidence motion in April 9, 2022.

“Feed Mir Jaffer and Mir Sadiq narrative to people. The people going to the assembly for voting should be branded as Mir Jaffer and Mir Sadiq”, former PM is allegedly saying in the leaked audio tape.

Audio leaks saga: Imran purportedly talks about 'purchasing 5 MNAs'

In another audio, Imran purportedly talks about horse trading.

In the conversation, that seems to have taken place before the vote of no-confidence ousted Imran as prime minister in April, the voice says “I am buying five MNAs”.

The conversation begins with Imran allegedly telling the participants of the call: “You are mistaken that the number game is complete. This number is not like that. Don’t think it is over because 48 hours is a long time.”

“I am making some moves on my own that we cannot make public,” the voice said. “I am buying five, I have five. They are very important.”

Referring to an unknown third person, the voice says “tell him if he secures five more and the number turns to 10, then the game is in our hands.”

The voice, purported to be Imran’s, claims that the nation is alarmed.

“People want us to win in any way possible, therefore do not worry if this tactic is right or wrong,” the voice says. “Even if someone breaks one, it will have a huge impact.”

Earlier audio leaks

On September 28, the first leaked audio, allegedly containing a conversation held between Imran and then principal secretary Azam Khan, surfaced.

In that conversation, the voice, said to be of the former premier, can be heard saying "let's play with the cipher and turn it into a foreign conspiracy".

In the conversation, which seems to have taken place while Imran Khan held the PM’s office, the voice can be heard saying “we need to play with it without mentioning any country”.

He was referring to the cipher received from a foreign country, which Imran has claimed was proof of a foreign conspiracy to oust him.

Second 'Imran' audio leak: another purported discussion on cipher strategy

In response, the person, believed to be Azam, recommends calling a meeting with then foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood.

“[In the meeting], we will ask Shah Mahmood Qureshi to read out the letter. I will type whatever he tells us and convert it into [meeting] minutes,” the voice, purportedly of Azam, advised.

On September 30, another audio clip, purportedly of Imran, surfaced that contained a conversation with former planning minister Asad Umar, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Azam Khan.

In the conversation, the voice, believed to be of Imran Khan, can be heard scheduling a meeting on the cipher “to play with it” and asking conversation participants not to mention the name of any country while talking about it.

In the clip, the man, believed to be Imran, can be heard telling the others that minutes would be made “as per our wishes.”