Pakistan’s top minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has accused the previous most reliable Imran Khan of being the “the most important liar at the face of the earth” and injecting poison into society to “dangerously polarise the electorate” after he become toppled from energy in advance this yr.
Speaking in his first interview from Pakistan because he took over as top minister in April, Sharif, 70, spoke unsparingly of the “harm” that Khan, the previous cricket celeb who dominated Pakistan from 2018, had finished to the united states in each home and overseas affairs.
Pakistan is presently withinside the midst of an unparalleled financial crisis, because it grapples with mounting inflation, sky-excessive overseas debt, declining overseas foreign money reserves and now greater than $30bn of harm after the united states become hit via way of means of the worst flooding in its records in August, a weather crisis-pushed catastrophe that left 1,six hundred lifeless and tens of thousands and thousands with out safe haven and easy water.
Sharif, who’s the more youthful brother of the previous top minister Nawaz Sharif and a part of one in all Pakistan’s maximum effective political dynasties, referred to as Khan “a liar and a cheat” whose regulations had left the economic system in ruins.
He accused Khan, who ran on an anti-corruption manifesto, of carrying out the united states’s affairs to in shape his very own non-public agenda “in a way which may be best defined because the maximum inexperienced, self-centred, egotistical, immature flesh presser withinside the records of this united states”.
Khan, who nonetheless keeps massive reputation amongst swathes of voters, become eliminated from energy in April this yr after a vote of no self belief which noticed a lot of his allies in parliament flip towards him. Khan become located to have violated the charter in an try and prevent the vote going ahead, and he additionally threatened to impose martial regulation in preference to give up energy to the competition coalition.
Khan made repeated allegations that the vote become a “overseas conspiracy” towards him via way of means of americaA and claimed to have a diplomatic cable to show it, in spite of public denials via way of means of americaA, the army and figures in authorities, and in non-public conferences with diplomats.
The difficulty become in addition infected ultimate week after audio recordings of personal casual conversations, held via way of means of Khan in his workplace whilst he become top minister, had been leaked directly to the internet. The audio leaks allegedly captured Khan discussing a way to fabricate a conspiracy approximately a overseas threat, with him heard announcing they could “play with the cable”.
Sharif stated the leaked audios had been “an irrefutable endorsement that he [Khan] is the most important liar at the face of the earth. I’m now no longer announcing this with a experience of glee however a experience of embarrassment and concern. My united states’s photograph has been been broken highly via way of means of those lies informed out of suggest non-public interest.”
Since he become eliminated from energy, Khan, now the chief of the competition, has been stirring up his tens of thousands and thousands of dependable supporters at rallies and speeches throughout the united states, peddling conspiracy theories and accusing the Sharif-led coalition authorities of being a corrupt and “imported” authorities from the west. He has pledged to combat the following election, and is making plans a “surprise” march at the capital, Islamabad, withinside the coming weeks.
Khan’s populist narrative has proved exceptionally effective, and additionally emerge as a thorn withinside the facet of Pakistan’s effective army established order who, in spite of their claims of staying out of politics, gave Khan their tacit backing in 2018 and are visible to have enabled his election. In political and diplomatic circles, Khan’s fall from energy is extensively connected to a disintegration in his courting with the army pinnacle brass. Since he become toppled, Khan has became his supporters towards the military chief, Qamar Javed Bajwa, in particular.
Sharif, who has constantly labored with the army established order, recounted he confronted huge demanding situations ruling Pakistan even as Khan become mobilising at the streets. Several of the financial choices taken via way of means of Sharif’s authorities, inclusive of elevating gasoline taxes, have proved very unpopular.
“Never earlier than become I worried approximately our united states’s future,” stated Sharif. “Imran Khan has injected countless quantity of poison on this society and made it highly polarised as in no way earlier than … he’s distorting information and developing hate.”
How to cope with Khan has emerge as a first-rate supply of competition withinside the ruling coalition, called the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). Many near Sharif have publicly criticised the management for now no longer arresting Khan even after warrants had been issued.
Speaking to the Guardian, Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, the Islamic rightwing flesh presser who’s one of the maximum effective figures withinside the PDM authorities, stated: “Our predominant criticism is that Imran Khan, who has been declared because the violator of the charter via way of means of the court … why he isn’t always being arrested via way of means of the authorities?” Maryam Nawaz, who’s Nawaz Sharif’s daughter and vice-president in their celebration, PLM-N, informed journalists on Sunday that Khan have to be “at the back of bars via way of means of now”.
Khan has regarded to welcome the threats. “I am equipped to visit prison and my country as well. We aren’t scared of prison,” he informed a rally on Sunday.
Sharif could now no longer be drawn into conjecture approximately Khan’s arrest however his cupboard has accredited a prison inquiry into the audio leak revelations and Sharif stated Khan “needs to be held responsible for these types of aware crook acts”.
Sharif observed his efforts to rebuild family members with numerous of Pakistan’s overseas allies, which had been visible to nosedive after 2018. Sharif stated he had been “shocked” on the UN popular meeting in New York in advance this month whilst numerous international leaders, who he refused to name, had in my view raised Khan’s conduct. “Some leaders informed me in character approximately his personality,” stated Sharif. “They informed me he become rude, he informed lies and he’s a ‘narcissist’, quote unquote.”
Though anti-American sentiment remains rife at the streets, Sharif’s management has been actively running to fix ties with americaA. The authorities these days agreed a $450m (£400m) cope with americaA for F-sixteen army aircraft, in spite of the united states’s dire economic straits, and Biden and Sharif in brief met on the UN in New York, in which Biden pledged to guide Pakistan withinside the wake of the devastation of the floods. The overseas minister, Bilawal Bhutto, back from a US experience this week and Bajwa, the military chief, is presently in Washington.
“Khan has broken Pakistan’s family members with america for no rhyme or reason,” stated Sharif.
Yet he additionally made it clean he could be reaffirming Pakistan’s near courting with China, which reportedly suffered beneathneath Khan after he stalled at the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multibillion-greenback infrastructure task that may be a cornerstone of China’s belt and avenue initiative (BRI).
There are issues CPEC is main Pakistan right into a debt entice with China, and mounting neighborhood competition has brought about CPEC tasks and employees being hit via way of means of bomb blasts. Yet, in spite of the safety issues, and China itself stated to be rolling lower back BRI, Sharif vowed to retain with the task, and could go to China in November, describing the united states as “one of the maximum relied on buddies of Pakistan”.
“Make no mistake, CPEC is a task which isn’t always best top for Pakistan’s health however for the complete region,” he stated.
Indeed, a lot of his regulations appear like an immediate continuation of these carried out via way of means of his elder brother Nawaz Sharif, who served 3 phrases as top minister from 1990. In 2017, Sharif become disqualified from workplace and sentenced to ten years in prison on corruption costs he stated had been politically motivated. He become given brief bail to tour to London for scientific remedy in 2021 and in no way got here lower back. He is now stated to govern the celebration from his belongings in critical London, with Sharif making visits withinside the beyond month.
Sharif become open approximately his brother’s involvement in authorities. “Of route I seek advice from Nawaz, he’s my chief and my older brother,” he stated. “But he has given me absolutely unfastened rein to make choices.”
Yet the ascension of the Sharifs to energy again, ruling in a coalition along participants of the effective Bhutto family – former political opponents who got here collectively with 10 different events that allows you to defeat Khan – has led a few to criticise the go back of so-referred to as dynastic politics which has ruled Pakistan for greater than 4 decades.
Maryam Nawaz, who become stuck up in her father Nawaz Sharif’s corruption case and sentenced to prison in 2018, become cleared of costs this week and is now anticipated to go back to politics. Bilawal Bhutto, the modern-day overseas minister, is the son of former top minister Benazir Bhutto, who become assassinated in 2007 and grandson of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who become top minister withinside the 1970s. Khan has constantly represented himself because the opportunity to such dynastic politics, despite the fact that a lot of his pinnacle ministers got here from political families.
Sharif vehemently rebuffed the criticism. “It’s approximately competence: it’s approximately public guide, it’s approximately people’s trust,” he stated. “It’s now no longer approximately dynasty.”