— indibell (@indibell_) October 7, 2022
A purported hacker on Friday released yet another alleged audio recording of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in which he can be heard saying he has “bought” 5 lawmakers through ‘horse-trading,’ which the ousted prime minister has repeatedly accused his rivals of.
Titles “Chairman Imran Khan Horse-Trading,” the most recent audio recording appears to take place ahead of the vote of no-confidence that resulted in the ouster of Khan from the Prime Minister’s Office and the en masse resignations of PTI MNAs from the National Assembly. It is unclear who the PTI chief is talking to, as the less than 1-minute clip appears to have been cut at several points to remove the voices of other participants in the meeting.
The latest audio begins with Khan telling someone that they are “under a great misperception” that the “number game” of the opposition has been completed, apparently with regards to the vote of no-confidence. “The number is not actually like this,” he says. “Don’t think that the game is over because 48 hours is a long, long time. Many things are happening in this [time]. I am, in my personal capacity, taking some steps that we can’t make public,” he continues.
“I am buying 5 [MNAs]; I have 5… I want to give the message that those 5 are very important,” Khan allegedly says. “And tell him that if he can secure 5 more … if the number rises to 10, then the game is in our hands,” he continues. “The entire nation is alarmed right now. Across the board, people want us to win somehow so no one should worry about whether this is right or wrong, [we will use] any tactic. If anyone can break even one [vote], then it can make a big difference.”
The latest conversation stands in stark contrast to Khan’s oft-publicized stance of his opponents using “millions” to “buy” his lawmakers. He had, in a televised address, even described the act of “buying” and “selling” votes as “shirk” [disbelief in God]. In May, he had even urged the Supreme Court to take action against horse-trading, describing it as a “threat” to the future of Pakistan. Subsequently, the Supreme Court had issued its verdict on votes of defecting lawmakers, saying their votes could not be counted in Parliament. This ruling had directly aided the PTI in securing a majority in the Punjab Assembly and installing PMLQ’s Parvez Elahi as chief minister of the province.
Season of leaks
The latest clip is the third alleged audio clip of the then-prime minister that has been released to the public in less than two weeks. Last Friday, an audio recording of a meeting between Khan; then-planning minister Asad Umar; then-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi; and then-principal secretary to the P.M. Azam Khan was released in which they could be heard discussing how they should name America as the origin of the diplomatic cipher that the PTI claims “proves” a foreign conspiracy was behind its ouster. While this has not been independently confirmed, the PTI has yet to deny its contents, suggesting the conversation actually happened.
Prior to that, an audio leak of an alleged conversation between Khan and Azam—also substantiated by the PTI—had featured a discussion on means to “copy” the contents of the diplomatic cipher into formal minutes. In that clip, Khan can also be heard telling Azam they would “play” on the cipher by establishing that the date of no-confidence was decided before the motion was tabled in Parliament.