Home Latest News ‘Biggest Liar on Earth,’ P.M. Sharif says of Imran Khan

‘Biggest Liar on Earth,’ P.M. Sharif says of Imran Khan

In interview with Britain’s Guardian, premier stresses that PTI chief must be held accountable for his criminal acts

by Staff Report

Photo courtesy PID

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in an interview with U.K. daily The Guardian, has slammed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan as the “biggest liar on the face of the earth,” alleging that several world leaders had complained of the ousted prime minister’s behavior in their interactions.

Referring to leaked audio conversations between Khan and his aides—in which the former prime minister appears to be discussing ways to politicize a diplomatic cipher by projecting it as “proof” of a conspiracy—Sharif said they were “an irrefutable endorsement that he [Khan] is the biggest liar on the face of the earth. I’m not saying this with a sense of glee but a sense of embarrassment and concern. My country’s image has been damaged hugely by these lies told out of mean personal interest.”

Admitting that Khan’s populist narrative—built around the largely dismissed “foreign conspiracy” and allegations of corruption—had proven a challenge for his government, the prime minister told The Guardian that the polarization “injected” by the PTI chief had left him very concerned about Pakistan’s future. “Never before was I concerned about our country’s future,” he said. “Imran Khan has injected infinite amount of poison in this society and made it hugely polarized as never before … he is distorting facts and creating hate.”

Accusing the PTI chief of being “a liar and a cheat” whose policies had left the economy in ruins, Sharif alleged Khan’s actions in government had been intended to solely benefit his personal agenda “in a manner which can be only described as the most inexperienced, self-centered, egotistical, immature politician in the history of this country.”

Claiming he had attempted to rebuild relations with Pakistan’s international allies after coming into power, the prime minister told The Guardian he had “shocked” at the U.N. General Assembly in New York when several world leaders, who he refused to name, had personally raised Khan’s conduct. “Some leaders told me in person about his personality,” he said. “They told me he was rude, he told lies and he is a ‘narcissist’, quote unquote,” he said, stressing that Khan’s “foreign conspiracy” narrative had “damaged Pakistan’s relations with the United States for no rhyme or reason.”

On how his government intended to tackle the perceived threat posed by the PTI chairman, Sharif said the federal cabinet had approved a legal inquiry into the audio leak revelations, emphasizing that Khan “has to be held accountable for all these conscious criminal acts.”

Similarly, in a statement issued by Prime Minister’s House on Monday, Sharif accused Khan of trying to “create chaos in state institutions to escape punishment” in the cases pending against him. Referring to the audio leaks, he said they had exposed the “conspiracy” to have been instigated by the PTI against the state and its institutions.

Stressing that altering a diplomatic cipher was equivalent to putting national security at stake, he said those who “played” with national security would be held accountable. “Being popular does not mean being exempt from the law; the law is equal for all,” he added.

China ties

In his interview with The Guardian, Sharif said he would also work to restore Pakistan’s close relationship with China, which reportedly suffered under Khan due to delays in the implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Confirming that he would visit China in November, he emphasized that CPEC was “not only good for Pakistan’s wellbeing but for the whole region.”

The prime minister also sought to rubbish public criticisms of the ruling coalition’s Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) being dynastic parties with little room for leadership slots outside the core families. While admitting that he consulted his elder brother, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, on governance issues, he said his niece, Maryam Nawaz, and foreign minister, PPP’s Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, had not emerged as political forces because of their family name. “It’s about competence: it’s about public support, it’s about people’s trust,” he said. “It’s not about dynasty.”

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