KARACHI: People all over Pakistan are desperately waiting for the “final call” of former prime minister Imran Khan, which would lead to “real freedom” and “revolution” in the country, claimed senior Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Umar.

Addressing a press conference here along with party leaders and members of the Sindh Assembly, the former federal minister also warned the Shehbaz Sharif government to stay away from any move that “ignites anger among people” of Pakistan as they would not accept any vendetta against the “former prime minister”.

“This government has lost its senses,” said Mr Umar, who was accompanied by former federal minister and Sindh chapter PTI president Ali Zaidi and former Sindh governor Imran Ismail. “But it knows its limits. It very well realises that it can’t stand long against the people of Pakistan. So only last night when it saw people on streets against the possible arrest of Imran Khan, it backed out and faced embarrassment.”

He defended the logic of the PTI chief’s argument in the recent leaked audios, saying that the conversation proved the existence of the cipher and the challenge Pakistan was facing at the foreign policy front.

“And there are audio leaks of government people,” said Mr Umar. “What do they suggest? In one the key men of the government are conspiring in connivance with the Election Commission and in the other, the top executives of the country are discussing proposals to facilitate a ruling party’s family member. The difference is loud and clear and again this scheme of audio leaks to tarnish the image of Imran Khan has badly backfired.”

Speaking on the occasion, Ali Zaidi accused Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and his cabinet of exploiting the flood in the province to their own advantage.

He said that instead of planning relief and rehabilitation of the affected people, the Sindh government was busy looking for new ways of ‘minting’ money through that tragedy.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2022