Pervaiz Rasheed confirms Mushahidullah’s resignation

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid while speaking to Geo News on Saturday confirmed that Senator Mushahidullah Khan has sent his resignation to the Prime Minister House.

Rashid said Mushahidullah will present his explanation to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on his return from Maldives, regarding his controversial claims to BBC Urdu in an interview.

Senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and Federal Minister for Environment, Mushahidullah Khan had accused former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt. General (retd) Zahiurl Islam of hatching a conspiracy against the government and military leadership to seize power during the sit-in of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) last year.

The minister while talking to BBC Urdu on Friday said the conspiracy came to fore after Intelligence Bureau (IB), a civil spy service, intercepted a telephonic conversation of the former ISI boss, who was issuing instructions to spread anarchy and to occupy the Prime Minister House.

Mushahidullah went on to claim that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif played the recording of the conversation before Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif who he said was astonished after listening to the audio tape.

He further said that the COAS was surprised after listening to the tape and that he then called the ISI chief to the meeting and asked him if that was his voice. “When Zahirul Islam confirmed it, he was asked to leave,” said Senator Mushahidullah Khan.

An official spokesman from the Prime Minister House denied existence of any recorded tape of former ISI Chief as alleged.

The PM sought an explanation from the minister on his statement in the interview broadcast by BBC.

The spokesman added that PM Nawaz had no knowledge of any tape which was presented to him by the minister as claimed.

Reacting over the shocking revelations, Information Minister Pervez Rashid had also rejected the claim of Mushahidullah Khan.

Rashid said that the incident is fabricated, adding that he was always by the PM’s side during the sit-ins and he did not witness any such incident.

Late last night, the ISPR also released a statement:

The story about any tape recording as being discussed in media is totally baseless,unfounded &farthest from truth-1/2

— AsimBajwaISPR (@AsimBajwaISPR) August 14, 2015

....Such rumours are irresponsible, and unprofessional-2/2

— AsimBajwaISPR (@AsimBajwaISPR) August 14, 2015