Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan remains firm in his demand for early elections. But a leaked audio clip, aired by a media outlet on Saturday, appears to show Imran was desperate for reconciliation with former president and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.
Geo News aired the clip of a purported phone conversation between real estate dealer Malik Riaz and Zardari.
“Sir, I just wanted to inform you about a matter that I have told you about before. I had told you that I wanted to talk to you about something and you told me that we would discuss it later... I just wanted to say that [Imran] Khan has sent me several messages for mediating in a patch-up between you and him, and today, he has sent several messages to me,” Riaz is quoted as saying by Geo News.
Zardari reacts curtly noting “It's impossible now.”
Geo News said it had not ascertained the date the conversation took place. Some commentators claimed the conversation happened in the run-up to the no-confidence motion against Imran in early April.
At the time, Imran had been publicly critical of Zardari, the PPP and the PML-N. The two parties subsequently tied up to form a coalition government.
Noted Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir tweeted late on Saturday “In the days when Khan Sahib was declaring Zardari Sahib as the target number one, he was also sending messages of peace to Zardari Sahib when a businessman gave this message to Zardari Sahib two days before the no-confidence motion. The conversation between the two has been leaked.”
The audio clip has already triggered predictable reactions. Dawn reported “a number of senior PPP leaders said they were not aware of the timing of the purported phone call, but they could confirm that Malik Riaz had been playing the role of a mediator after submission of the no-confidence resolution against Imran Khan in the National Assembly by the then opposition parties.” The petition for a no-confidence motion was submitted in March.
Dr Shahbaz Gill, a spokesperson for Imran's PTI, described the clip as a “lie”. He took to Twitter to say “A businessman and an opponent of Imran Khan are talking about things that have nothing to do with reality. Imran Khan does not require an NRO. Instead, all these people kept seeking an NRO (from Imran) which they didn’t get... This story is a lie…. at least, a strong script should have been written.”
NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) was an ordinance issued in 2007 by then Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf that granted amnesty to politicians and officials accused of corruption. It was declared unconstitutional by the Pakistan Supreme Court in 2009, but there have been allegations that political parties have wanted the measure reintroduced.
