SENATOR Faisal Vawda, known for creating a stir with his sensational claims, stirred another hornet’s nest on Monday when he accused PTI founder Imran Khan of knowing that “something big was going to happen” ahead of the Oct 2022 assassination of journalist Arshad Sharif, and alleged that former spy chief retd Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed may have had a hand in the incident.

Known for his wavering political loyalties, Senator Vawda made these claims in different TV shows on Monday night, and offered a 42-second piece of audio as proof, claiming that it was recorded days before the assassination of Arshad Sharif in Kenya.

While appearing on Geo News, he alleged that the former ISI chief was involved in the murder of the journalist, adding that the PTI founder and then-PM Imran Khan was well aware that “something big” was happening that would boost his anti-government campaign and give a much-needed push to his “Long March”, which had begun on Oct 28 from Lahore.

“According to my analysis, [Imran] was not aware that Arshad Sharif was going to be murdered. But he was well aware that something big was going to happen,” Mr Vawda said. “But Faiz Hameed was directly involved and he was well aware of that [plan]. And Murad Saeed was also aware. He was aware of it in August 2022. He even knew that someone outside the country had been hired for the job. His presser on this subject is on the record,” Mr Vawda claimed.

When asked about his allegations against the former prime minister, the senator produced a brief audio clip which was played in the show. Mr Vawda claimed the audio clip was part of the PTI chairman’s address to party leaders in Bani Gala days before Arshad Sharif’s murder.

In the audio, a voice purported to be of the PTI founder can be heard as saying: “Look we should not confuse what we’re going to do in the long march and what we’re doing in the protests that we are staging today”.

“Both protests have different dynamics and we have planned very meticulously what we’re going to do [in the long march] and I am not going to announce it in a knee-jerk reaction. I am going to announce it very soon, by the end of the month or maybe on 30th or by next Sunday. But I am not giving any date,” the voice on the audio can be heard saying.

Dawn was unable to verify the authenticity of the audio clip or its contents.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2024