Treason case sought against Imran, three others for derailing Pak govt's deal with IMF

Islamabad [Pakistan], August 31 : Islamabad Police on Wednesday informed that an application had been filed to register a treason case against former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan and three others for hatching a conspiracy to derail International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal with the Pakistan Government.
The application also seeks to register treason cases against former finance minister Shaukat Tarin and incumbent finance ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mohsin Khan Leghari and Taimur Khan Jhagra, reported Dawn.
On Monday, two audio clips surfaced via TV channels and social media in which a man said to be Tarin can be heard guiding the two provincial ministers to tell the federal government and the IMF that they would not be able to commit to a provincial budget surplus in light of the recent floods that have wreaked havoc in Pakistan.
The audios triggered criticism against PTI and the ruling coalition alleged that it was nothing but a conspiracy to derail the government's deal with the IMF.
The application, available with Dawn, has been submitted by the founder and chairman of Aman Taraqi Party, Mohammad Faiq Shah, who is a resident of E-7, to the Kohsar police station.
The complainant stated that on Aug 29 at 11:50 pm he saw a tweet from journalist Hamid Mir in which two audios were shared. In these audios, Tarin directed Mohsin Leghari and Taimur Khan Jhagra to create hurdles in the IMF deal.
"Mr Tarin was clearly saying that the way the government had lodged cases of terrorism against PTI, there was a need to increase pressure on it by creating hurdles in the IMF deal. It was also said that the decision was made after consultation with Imran Khan," he said.
He said Tarin had confessed to it during a programme Kal Tak by Javed Chaudhry that it was the narrative of the party which showed that the PTI was trying to hatch a conspiracy against Pakistan, reported Dawn.
The complainant said Imran Khan had already stated that Pakistan will default just like Sri Lanka. He alleged that such conspiracies were being hatched in the direction of foreign powers and it was treason.
The complainant requested the police take legal action against all four suspects.
According to media reports, Pakistan had managed to secure "loans, financing, deferred oil payments and investment commitments close to USD 12 billion from China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE. This will help the cash-strapped country to avoid a default for now.
However, such commitments will become available only after the IMF board approves the package, according to American Broadcaster Voice of America (VOA).
Pakistan's economy is broad and deep and its geostrategic position is strong enough for it to avoid default, experts told VOA.