LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz said on Saturday that audio-leak regarding cipher exposed the real face of Imran Khan and proved that he played havoc with the Pakistan’s Constitution, security, diplomatic and foreign relations, and democratic system.
Maryam demanded that Imran Khan should be thrown into prison for violating the Constitution and playing with the national interest, saying “he is still a ladla of someone”.
“Certainly he is not our blue-eyed boy but of someone who is in South Punjab these days… but he too is not sincere with him but using him for his own vested interests,” she remarked.
سازش ضرور ہوئی لیکن وہ سازش کسی اور نے نہیں کی بالکہ اس سازش کا ماسٹر مائنڈ فارن فنڈڈ فتنہ عمران خان ہے #MaryamNawaz pic.twitter.com/FAauEQFLiy
— Raza Butt 🎙️ (@SocialDigitally) October 1, 2022
She was addressing a press conference here, while Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Auranzeb and Pervez Rashid also accompanied her.
Maryam Nawaz said though she did not want to utter Imran Khan’s name, she had to expose his real face and lies before people, adding that many audios had earlier come forth against PML-N’s leadership, but there was no such audio in which the PML-N leaders had ever talked against Pakistan.
Of course, she said, there had been a conspiracy against Pakistan, and it was not by the PML-N, PPP or any other party of the PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement), the establishment and any foreign power, but by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. PTI leaders — Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Asad Umar, and Azam Khan, the then prime minister’s principal secretary, were involved in the cipher conspiracy, she added.
پاکستان مسلم لیگ ن کی مرکزی سینئر قیادت پریس کانفرنس کر رہی ہے https://t.co/uZJPMSO3rW
— PML(N) (@pmln_org) October 1, 2022
During the Nawaz Sharif’s tenure, she recalled, there had been discussions and policy formulations for development of the country and people’s prosperity in the Prime Minister’s House, but Imran Khan, while sitting in the PM House, hatched a conspiracy against the country.
The PML-N vice president said that the PTI leaders also tampered with the national record. She alleged that the party had a mindset which wanted to destabilise the country. In the cipher audio-leak, Imran Khan says: “We have to play on it”, which showed the mindset of Imran Khan. Today, no Pak diplomat in any country was ready to send ciphers to Pakistan, she regretted, demanding that Imran Khan must tender apology to the Pakistani nation.
Speaking about reports that the cypher was missing from PM House, Maryam accused the former premier of taking the diplomatic cable away with him. “He should seek apology from the nation for playing with the country’s national interest and waving a fake letter in front of them,” she added.
Calling Imran a ‘mastermind of conspiracies’, the ruling party leader said the former premier severed the country’s ties with friendly countries. “He conspired against the country’s security, its foreign policy and democratic system.”
Speaking about the alleged leaked audio clips of PM Shehbaz Sharif and other government officials, Maryam said either in official or private conversations people would never find anything against the country and the nation.
Govt will take appropriate action against Imran
Speaking at the start of the presser, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said Imran’s crime was unpardonable and added that government will under its legal duty will take appropriate action against him for “abrogating” the Constitution.
Calling the former premier a ‘conspirator’ who is on a mission to destroy the country, Dar said, “He has already destroyed the country’s economy. All macroeconomic indicators have worsened… he [Imran] pushed the country towards default”.
“Minutes of the meeting are present but cypher is missing… it has been established that Imran violated the Constitution and violated his oath of prime minister,” he added.
The government will be failing its constitutional duty if it did not take appropriate action against the ousted PM. “We will take this matter forward in light of Constitution and law.”
Speaking about economy, the finance minister vowed to reverse the damage caused to economy by the previous PTI-led regime.
“We saved the country from default… currency has started to improve… during the last five days an improvement has been witnessed in the country’s economic indicators.”
Dar said he passed on relief to the people by reducing fuel prices despite challenges.
Party to counter PTI’s narrative
Meanwhile, the ruling party has decided to adopt an aggressive strategy to counter the PTI’s narrative of foreign conspiracy.
PML-N supremo and former PM Nawaz Sharif, who has been living in London since 2019, has directed his party to robustly inform the public about Imran’s “fake narrative” based on diplomatic cypher, according to the party sources.
The use of diplomatic cable was a “big conspiracy” against the state and Imran’s false narratives should be exposed at all platforms including electronic, print and social media, Nawaz was quoted as saying.
The party insiders added that all federal ministers have been directed to hold press conferences to highlight how Imran’s ‘foreign conspiracy’ narrative damaged the country’s foreign policy with an aim to isolate Pakistan internationally.
Important meeting of PML-N
An important meeting of PML-N leaders was held at party president and PM Shehbaz Sharif’s Model Town residence in Lahore to deliberate on ‘missing cypher’ controversy and legal matters pertaining to the return of party supremo Nawaz Sharif from London.
Senior PML-N leaders Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Ahsan Iqbal, Marriyum Aurangzeb and other leaders attended the meeting, presided over by the premier.
During the meeting, various options were considered to give relief to the inflation-stricken people.
Moreover, the ruling party also discussed options for an in-house change in the Punjab Assembly and upcoming by-elections.
After the meeting, the PML-N leaders held a press conference to brief the media on the decisions.
