Buying MNAs: Imran terms audio leaks ‘deep fakes’

Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Friday refuted the latest audio leaks against him, terming one in particular of him allegedly involved in horse-trading as “fake”.

Addressing a rally in his native Mianwali on Friday, Imran claimed that the audio was fabricated by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz to discredit him.

Those who are experts in this field say it is not difficult to make “deep fakes”, Imran said.

Urging those in the crowd to prepare for a long march to the federal capital, he said the government remains perplexed about his plans.

In a shot at federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Imran claimed they had devised a plan for the long march that the interior minister would not have thought of. He added that if the government wants to threaten him with arrests, but he is preparing to launch a “fill jails” movement where PTI members would offer their arrests.

For the past six months, we have been demanding an investigation into the cypher clearly indicates foreign involvement in the regime change movement, said Imran.

The PTI chief accosted the government for its poor economic management, pointing to the runaway inflation in the country.

Imran said that during his regime, the country had record tax collection, remittances and exports, and now the new government had brought the nation to the verge of bankruptcy.

He reiterated his concerns over the recent changes to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws by the coalition government, claiming that the amendments were made just so the ruling parties could close their corruption cases.

Earlier, dictator General Pervaiz Musharraf gave NRO to these corrupt leaders, and now they are trying their best to do the same for themselves, he stated. He added that the corruption of the Sharif family was revealed in the Panama Papers before the world, but Maryam Nawaz defiantly rejected the notion she owned any property in London. Towards the end of his speech, Imran took an oath from the crowd on participating in the upcoming long march and said that he would soon share the date for when it will take place.