PESHAWAR / ISLAMABAD: Reacting to the audio leaks of conversations that took place at the PM House, PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Friday asked the “neutrals” — a term he uses for the military establishment — who is responsible for the security breach and leaking of sensitive information to the country’s enemies.

Speaking to a large gathering of students at the historic Edwardes College Peshawar, the former prime minister said, “Who will protect the interests of the county if the neutrals are busy arresting the social media activists and putting offline ARY and Bol News”.

The PTI chief further said: “I ask the protectors today […] if robbers are looting a house, can the guards say that they are neutral?”

The ex-PM said there was no difference between animals and those people who called themselves apolitical.

Fawad alleges country’s justice system has collapsed; hints at challenging Maryam’s acquittal before Supreme Court

Mr Khan exhorted the students to resist injustice and tyranny in society. “We have to fight against tyranny and injustice”, he emphasised, adding if “we say we are apolitical, then we will be responsible for the injustices in society”.

He said the students should ask why looters of this country were being given NROs time and again.

The term ‘NRO’ is used to refer to the National Reconciliation Ordinance that Gen Musharraf had promulgated after a deal with PPP in 2007, following which cases registered on political grounds were ended.

Imran Khan said he was preparing the nation for his call against the “imported and corrupt government”, saying he would set out against them even if he had to do it alone. “If I have no fear […] I am not afraid of going to jail or losing my life […] then the nation should also not be scared.”

In Islamabad, party’s senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry said the acquittal of Maryam Nawaz in the Avenfield apartments reference had raised serious questions about the judicial system.

Speaking at a press conference a day after the Islamabad High Court acquitted Maryam Nawaz Sharif and her spouse, retired Capt Safdar, of the charges levelled in the Avenfield reference, he said practically it seems next to impossible to punish the big corrupt mafia in Pakistan.

The PTI leader said he believed that the country’s judicial system had collapsed after the change in the regime that took place in April.

Mr Chaudhry said the type of decisions coming from courts were conveying a message to the public that people should always do massive corruption, otherwise they would be caught.

“Had we [the PTI government] appointed our own 100 or 150 judges, today we would not have been facing this situation,” said Mr Chaudhry while responding to a question.

He recalled that the Sharif family had been declared guilty by the court on the basis of an inquiry conducted by a joint investigation team that had been constituted by the Supreme Court after a German newspaper published the Panama Papers story in 2016.

The SC verdict, he said, had declared that Maryam Nawaz was the original beneficiary of the London properties and that she had lied before the court. But even then Ms Maryam and Capt Safdar were given clean chit, he regretted.

The PTI leader alleged that the entire system had been corrupted by these “thieves,” but Imran Khan would fight these “cabal of crooks”, come what may. He said they would soon move the Supreme Court against this verdict and they would try to make the Supreme Court listen to “our lawyers”.

Talking about audio leaks, he claimed that the main purpose of audio leaks was to divert public attention from the decision of Ms Maryam’s acquittal.

He said the PTI government had acted responsibly and did not name the country until the cabinet declassified the cipher.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2022