Leaked audio sparks controversy within PTI leadership

ISLAMABAD: A purportedly leaked audio of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram has gone viral on social media, in which he is allegedly heard criticising the handling of a sit-in staged by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.

The controversy emerged after CM Afridi held an hours-long sit-in near Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail following authorities’ refusal to allow him access to imprisoned PTI founder Imran Khan.

Afridi had arrived in Rawalpindi amid concerns over Imran Khan’s health and sought permission to meet him at Adiala Jail, but was denied access. Earlier, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed on Friday that the PTI founder had briefly been taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for a medical procedure.

According to the purported leaked audio, Sheikh Waqas Akram is heard saying that if the KP chief minister intended to stage a sit-in, he should have brought the 90 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly with him, as they were geographically closer. He allegedly said that lawmakers could have reached the venue if they had been informed in advance during a meeting held the previous night at KP House, which was attended by senior PTI leaders Asad Qaiser and Junaid Akbar.

In the audio, Akram is purportedly heard criticising the planning of the protest, remarking that the chief minister should have informed party members about the sit-in in advance, calling the situation “a joke” due to the lack of coordination.

The alleged message suggests that Akram blamed the KP chief minister for the low turnout of PTI lawmakers at Thursday’s sit-in. He is also heard saying that the chief minister had claimed to have called members of the National and provincial assemblies, rather than party workers, to participate in the protest.

The audio further alleges that several lawmakers had travelled from Punjab earlier in the week but had already returned to their constituencies. Akram reportedly said that no lawmaker could be expected to reach Rawalpindi immediately at night, adding that “no one has an airplane” to arrive on short notice. He also pointed out that more lawmakers had gathered outside the Supreme Court earlier due to better coordination.

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He reportedly maintained that the absence of lawmakers was not their fault but the responsibility of those who planned the sit-in without adequate notice.

Following the circulation of the audio, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan sought to downplay the controversy, saying the remarks had been misinterpreted. Speaking to the media after a political committee meeting attended by opposition leaders, he said Sheikh Waqas Akram “did not say anything like that.”

Barrister Gohar added that the meeting was attended by members of the PTI political committee, including Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and Mahmood Khan Achakzai.