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The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday distanced itself from a statement uttered by party leader Sher Afzal Marwat during an interview in which he claimed Saudi Arabia had also played a role in the vote of no-confidence that led to Imran Khan’s ouster as prime minister in 2022.
Since his ouster, Khan has repeatedly alleged that a “foreign conspiracy” was responsible for the then-opposition’s vote of no-confidence against him. After initially blaming the U.S. for orchestrating it, he briefly backtracked, before once against accusing Washington, which has denied the allegations. Adding to the list on Tuesday, Marwat alleged to anchor Gharidah Farooqi that Saudi Arabia had collaborated with the U.S. to enact the “regime change operation.”
To a follow-up question on whether he was implicating the Gulf kingdom, Marwat replied in the affirmative. “Saudi Arabia played the role of a conduit,” he claimed, further alleging that the Saudi government always acts on the directions of the U.S.
The controversial remarks triggered immediate condemnations, especially as they coincided with a visit to Islamabad by a Saudi delegation led by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. As the outrage mounted, with several PTI leaders rebutting Marwat, the party issued a statement on its social media platforms maintaining the remarks were “contrary to fact.”
Distancing itself from Marwat, the PTI statement maintained the party leader’s remarks did not “represent the party’s stance nor does the party consider them factual in any way.” It further said Marwat’s remarks could reflect his personal opinion, but were not in accordance with the views held by the party leadership or its workers.
Noting Pakistan’s strong ties with Saudi Arabia, the statement claimed the PTI founder “highly valued” the Saudi government and its relations with the Pakistani people. “The founding chairman … and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have a relationship of mutual respect, trust and brotherhood,” it said, adding the PTI was committed to promoting close cooperation and brotherhood between the two countries.
Following the statement, Marwat also offered a clarification in a posting on X. “The statement made by me in [Gharida Farooqui] live show was based on my personal views. I never claimed in my interview that this stance had any official backing of the PTI,” he wrote.
Nonetheless, the PMLN-led government slammed Marwat for the comments, declaring them a “heinous attempt” to damage ties between the “brotherly” nations. In a statement, spokesperson on Legal Affairs Barrister Aqeel Malik noted that the timing of Marwat’s statement suggested a nefarious conspiracy to destabilize the national economy.
“Unfortunately, PTI is full of such ‘digital extremists’ like Sher Afzal Marwat who act irresponsibly on media and social media,” he said, regretting the PTI had a history of trying to spoil Pakistan’s ties with friendly countries. “PTI’s history testifies that the party always worked against the interests of Pakistan,” he said, adding the statement was an attempt to interfere with the ongoing process of Saudi investment in the country.
He recalled the PTI has similarly sought to damage Pakistan’s IMF deal; inking of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor agreement; and the country’s ties with the U.S. through the cipher conspiracy. “Working against the interests of Pakistan and later taking a U-turn is a habit of the PTI,” he added.