More purported audio clips featuring leaders of Pakistan's government surfaced on Sunday, raising questions about the security of high-profile places and the meetings held there.
Apparently one of the clips involved a conversation among several senior leaders of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the high-security PM House.
Interior minister Rana Sanullah, defence minister Khawaja Asif, law minister Azam Tarar, and minister for economic affairs Ayaz Sadiq can be heard talking about the fate of Finance Minister Miftah Ismail and the resignations of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers from the National Assembly. Another audio clip is purportedly about a conversation between PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif about finance minister Ismail.
Maryam who is the daughter of former three-time premier Nawaz Sharif wields a lot of influence in the government and is critical of Ismail.
“He (Ismail) doesn't take responsibility […] says strange things on TV which people make fun of him for […] he doesn't know what he is doing,” she is heard saying in the clip.
“He clearly cut corners,” the voice said to be PM Shehbaz is heard as saying.
“Uncle, he doesn't know what he is doing,” Maryam says, as she wishes for the return of PML-N stalwart Ishaq Dar, who has been tipped to come back next week to take charge of the finance ministry. The two clips followed another a day earlier involving PM Shehbaz and the unidentified official who is talking about Maryam's wish that her son-in-law should be allowed to import some machinery from India.