ISLAMABAD: The interior minister requested the chief justice and the speaker of the National Assembly to take action following the release of a leaked audio recording apparently discussing the abduction of an MP as rumours that the president would ask for a vote of confidence from the prime minister mount.
The recording, which has been circulating on social media, reportedly features two Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) lawmakers, Hussain Elahi and Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain, discussing the abduction of a woman lawmaker in the National Assembly.
In the audio, which is slightly over a minute long, the two men can be heard strategizing on a potential vote of confidence for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has hinted at returning to parliament to ensure that “turncoats” do not aid Sharif in obtaining the vote of confidence.
How to kidnap an 80 years old female MNA in 10 minutes: Hussain Elahi and Wajahat Hussain discuss #audioleak pic.twitter.com/C885yKP301
— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) January 16, 2023
Rana Sanaullah Khan has condemned the alleged planning of the abduction of a woman, stating that the PTI’s intention to “buy the conscience” of PML-Q and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmakers has been “exposed before the public.”
ایک معزز خاتون رکن قومی اسمبلی کے اغواء کا مجرمانہ ارادہ اور توہین آمیز گفتگو انتہائی قابل مذمت ہے، جرائم پیشہ عناصر کا مجرمانہ منصوبہ بے نقاب ہوگیا۔ عمران خان مسلم لیگ (ن) اور اس کے اتحادی (ق) لیگ کے ارکان کا ضمیر خریدنے کے لئے بولیاں لگا رہے ہیں۔ 1)
— Rana SanaUllah Khan (@RanaSanaullahPK) January 17, 2023
He called on the chief justice, Umar Ata Bandial, to take note of the audio and this “trade of conscience,” and urged Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, the speaker, to do the same.
In the recording, a man believed to be Elahi is heard saying that “the parliamentary leader right now is Moonis Elahi […] but he has three and we are two.” The other voice, believed to be that of Hussain, then proposes that a “woman can be abducted.”
Elahi allegedly responds by saying he would suggest the idea to Moonis and that the woman could be sent on “vacations.”
It should be noted the name of the woman is not mentioned in the audio by either Hussain or Elahi.
Q League leaders have demanded that an investigation be carried out to verify the authenticity of the alarming audio and the involvement of the two if it is found to be true.
