LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Central Punjab General Secretary Hammad Azhar has said that the alleged leaked telephone call between PTI Chairman Imran Khan and his party leader Musarrat Jamshed Cheema was doctored and its purpose was to put the superior judiciary under pressure.

Reacting to the leaked telephone call here on Thursday, the former federal minister clarified that it was an edited version of a two-day conversation when the former Prime Minister appeared before the Islamabad High Court (IHC). He explained that the call was made when Khan was in IHC and he was talking about the IHC Chief Justice in the talk, not about the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

He added that those who were behind the audio leaks should understand that such attempts would not benefit anyone; the real issue was the restoration of democracy and the supremacy of the Constitution. “The doctored audio was another attempt to attack the superior judiciary,” he added.

While hailing the apex court’s decision of declaring Khan’s arrest illegal and subsequently, ordering his release, he said that the news of the PTI chief’s release sent a wave of jubilation in the nation. “After the apex court’s decision, a crackdown against the PTI intensified; reports of shelling and arrests of the PTI leaders and workers started pouring in. It seemed that the apex court’s verdict angered some quarters,” he maintained.

He asked the party workers, supporters and common citizens to travel to Islamabad and offer Juma prayers in the Capital.

Meanwhile, PTI Central Punjab Information Secretary Andleeb Abbas castigated Federal Information Minister Marryum Aurangzeb for the vile attack in the Supreme Court, saying once again Maryum has shown a fascist side of her party. “It was the same court that sent the PTI government home and this fascist government was full of praises for the court’s decision,” she added.

“Today, the same judges were ensuring supremacy of the rule and law and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was openly threatening the court. She (Maryum) has committed gross contempt of court and we were surprised why the court has not taken any action against her,” she added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023