Minister Ali Zaidi Shares Dissident MNA Raja Riaz’s Alleged Audio Clip

Minister Ali Zaidi Shares Dissident MNA Raja Riaz’s Alleged Audio Clip
Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi shared an audio clip purportedly of dissident Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Raja Riaz in which he could be heard speaking to an apparent supporter of the ruling party who complained about Riaz having sided with the opposition over the vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The minister shared the audio clip and wrote an Urdu couplet implying that this audio is the first of many such revelations against the members of the ruling party who decided to side with the opposition of the vote of no-confidence.

https://twitter.com/alihzaidipti/status/1504769948551630855?s=21

On Thursday, Raja Riaz announced that he and two dozen other PTI MNAs had moved to the Sindh House in Islamabad, after they say they had been threatened by the PTI. The PTI MNa, who is also a member of the Jahangir Tareen group, reported that at least 24 PTI lawmakers would not contest the no-confidence motion.

Furthermore, PTI’s Ramesh Kumar claimed that 33 members of the assembly, including three federal ministers, had left the ruling party.

Following the shift, Ali Haider Zaidi demanded an ‘immediate inquiry’ into Sindh House, claiming that approximately 400 officials from Sindh police had been deployed there with ‘ulterior motives to sabotage the political system in the country’, terming them the ‘Zardari mafia’s private army’.

In response to the leaked audio clip, some on social media wondered whether sharing the clandestine recording was becoming of a federal minister.

"Should a federal minister be sharing a secretly recorded audio, most likely without Raja Riaz's permission?" questioned journalist Benazir Shah.

https://twitter.com/Benazir_Shah/status/1504773746753744902