Audio of Imran Khan extending olive branch to Zardari leaked
A leaked audio recording of an alleged telephonic conversation between former Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and real estate tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain has surfaced, in which Riaz was heard as saying that ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to reach out to Zardari for reconciliation talks, according to media reports.
The 32-second audio recording, believed to be the voices of Zardari and Riaz respectively, has gone viral on social media and comes days after Khan abruptly ended his anti-government sit-in amid speculation that there was a deal struck between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Army.
In the purported conversation, the date of which cannot be ascertained, Riaz could be heard telling Zardari that Khan was sending him messages, according to reports. “Today, he (Imran Khan) has sent too many messages,” the voice believed to be of Riaz told the former president, who in response said: “It is impossible now.”
While the PTI immediately dismissed the audio as “fake,” members of Zardari’s party, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) said it “seemed genuine,” the report said.
Khan, who was ousted from power last month through a no-trust vote, had apparently lost the support of the Army after he refused to endorse the appointment of the ISI spy agency chief last year. He has been claiming that the no-trust motion against him was the result of a “foreign conspiracy” because his independent foreign policy and funds were being channelled from abroad to oust him from power.
He has named the US as the country behind the conspiracy, a charge denied by Washington.
Khan on Friday dismissed reports that he struck a deal with the Pakistan Army to end his massive “Azadi rally” demanding fresh general elections, asserting that he had decided to end his march.