Islamabad: Reacting to the leaked audio of a conversation purportedly between real estate tycoon Malik Riaz and PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday May 29 said that the audiotape has exposed Khan’s hypocrisy and double standards.
Taking to his Twitter handle, PM Shehbaz Sharif said, “The audiotape that surfaced recently exposes Imran Khan’s hypocrisy & double standards.”
A day earlier, real estate tycoon Malik Riaz’s telephonic conversation with PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari was leaked, according to Geo News. In it, Malik Riaz could be heard giving the ex-president a message from PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
The audio’s date and time have not been confirmed as of yet, but Riaz could be heard saying that Khan has requested him to mediate between the two political leaders.
Criticising the PTI chairman, the Prime Minister said, “Contrary to his claims, he sought [an] NRO to save himself & his govt.”
Moving onto the matter of the diplomatic cable, Shehbaz said, “The fake story of [a] foreign conspiracy was manufactured after all his efforts failed. His lies stand exposed.”
Though the PTI immediately declared the audio “fake”, the PPP leadership remained non-committal, while a number of party leaders said it “seemed genuine”, Dawn reported.
In the almost 32-second conversation, the date and time of which is not confirmed, Riaz can be heard telling Zardari that Khan had been sending him messages asking him to help “patch up” with the PPP.
“Today, he (Imran Khan) has sent too many messages,” the voice believed to be of Riaz who told the former Pak president, who in response says: “It is impossible now.”
