Maryam Nawaz says 'everything linked to Imran Khan is conspiracy'

• PML-N vice president says Khan was "always involved in conspiracies, but his true face was exposed only yesterday".
• She says "as soon as Khan lost support of those who favoured him, he started witnessing political downfall."
• She adds Khan, in a bid to come back to power, was trying to strike a deal.

LONDON: In response to the alleged leaked audios of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said Friday that everything related to the former premier was a "conspiracy".

"It's shocking that everything related to him is linked with a conspiracy, and that's the reason I call him fitna (rabble-rouser). His real name should be Sazish Khan," Maryam — who is currently in London with her father, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif — said while speaking to Geo News.

Maryam said that while Khan incessantly falsely accused other politicians of being involved in horse-trading and called them evil, he himself kept setting up markets for "buying and selling" lawmakers behind closed doors.

"He even said that those who engage in horse-trading are polytheists. If this is polytheism, then Khan sahab himself is the biggest polytheist alive," she said.

Maryam claimed that Khan had "always been involved in conspiracies, but his true face was exposed only yesterday."

"It is no surprise as to who launched him into the political arena to start a campaign against Nawaz Sharif, and everyone knows who was behind PTI's 2014 sit-ins," she said.

Recalling the General Elections 2018 that saw Khan becoming the country's prime minister, Maryam said that Nawaz's "winning members were kicked out [of the assembly]".

"The government was changed in Balochistan, so did it happen without horse-trading? What's more, Khan's party — through his plotting and planning — also won the election for the Senate chairman," she claimed.

Continuing her tirade against Khan, Maryam said: "the whole world saw how microphones and cameras were installed in the upper house [during the voting process] and how members were picked up and locked in containers."

"As I said, Khan had long been involved in hatching conspiracies but his plans could not be foiled until now," she stated, adding that as soon as Khan lost the support of those who favoured him, he started witnessing a political downfall.

The PML-N leader then said that while Khan always talks about his narrative of fairness, the nation learned the truth today as the audio leaks nullified his narrative.

"His conspiratorial face has been exposed before the whole world today," she said. "In the audio leaks, he could be heard talking about buying and selling members."

She said that, on the other hand, Khan could not provide a single piece of evidence related to the horse-trading allegations he hurled at other politicians.

Speaking about PTI supporters, Maryam said that she has "sympathies with them", adding that while Khan conveniently asked his party leaders to brand people as "Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq", he didn't even have the courage to name those he was referring to.

Maryam further said that Khan, in a bid to come back to power, was trying to strike a deal.

"This person, who was found guilty of bringing money to the country through foreign sources, should be termed a foreign-funded fitna", Maryam said.

'Feed Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq narrative to people'

Earlier this evening, another leaked audio went viral on social media, allegedly featuring Khan, ex-human rights minister Shireen Mazari, and former planning minister Asad Umar, where the former premier could be purportedly heard asking his party's leaders to "brand" people as Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq ahead of the no-confidence motion.

In the audio tape — the fourth tape in total and the third related to the cypher — the PTI chairman can be allegedly heard speaking about the US cypher and planning for the no-confidence vote in the National Assembly on Sunday. However, it is unclear whether the conversation took place ahead of April 3 or 11.

"Feed Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq narrative to people. The [people] going to the assembly for voting should be branded as Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq", Khan could allegedly be heard saying in the leaked audio tape.

This was the second audio leak in a day. The one that came to the fore earlier, Khan was heard speaking alone, allegedly discussing horse-trading with an aide.

The third audio mentioned a 48-hour time period, which matches with the Supreme Court order that was issued on April 7. The top court had directed the National Assembly speaker to hold a vote on the motion no later than April 9.

Several audios have been leaked online in a span of eight days — three of the incumbent government and two of PTI. Following the back-to-back leaks, the National Security Council (NSC) approved the formation of a high-level committee under the leadership of Sanauallah to investigate the matter of the audio leaks.