ISLAMABAD  -  Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday expressed serious appre­hensions over the news story of US online newspaper “The Inter­cept” that claimed that Pakistan sold arms and ammunition to Ukraine in order to secure a cru­cial bailout package from the In­ternational Monetary Fund (IMF).

The core committee of the party demanded an empowered high-level judicial commission to probe into both the stories of the pub­lication what it said “to bring the truth before the nation”. The core committee in its meeting termed the contents of the news by “The Intercept” as alarming, saying the report shed light on matters di­rectly related to Pakistan’s foreign policy, international agreements and national security. A day earlier, the foreign office had denied the contents of the news story terming it as baseless and fabricated.

“After publishing the alleged text of the Cipher, the latest news of “The Intercept” warrants im­mediate attention to identify the facts in this regard because some alarming claims have been made regarding the IMF financial deal with Pakistan in it,” the partici­pants of the meeting said. They went on to say that PTI Chair­man Imran Khan’s assumptions pertaining to the regime change conspiracy and its motives ap­peared to be true, as the country’s economy, politics, governance, state structure and society were in total decline since April 2022, exposing the role, characters and competence of the decision-mak­ers before the nation.

The core committee demanded that the contents of both news of “The Intercept” should be inves­tigated through an empowered high-level judicial commission and the facts should be brought before the nation. Separately, PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan berated Inspector General of Punjab Police Dr Usman Anwar for holding a meeting with the US Ambassador to Pakistan Don­ald Blome earlier this month. In a post on X, he strongly reacted to the meeting of Ambassador Blome alongwith American Consul Gen­eral Kristin K Hawkins, Economics Officer Douglas Johnston, and Se­curity Attaché Mike Diamond with IGP Punjab and other police offi­cials on September 6. “Each one of the Punjab policemen and policewomen who sat across the table from you in the meeting has a long ‘rap sheet’ of human rights abuses,” Omar asked the US envoy.

PTI secretary general asked some hard-hitting questions from the IGP Anwar and said, “Did you talk about the enforced disap­pearances and torture of PTI ac­tivists that you and your goons are carrying out as a policy tool?” He asked, “Did you talk about the 21 PTI women prisoners held on trumped up charges in Kot Lakh­pat Jail and being repeatedly de­nied bail,” adding that this ties in nicely to the money given by the US government for women facilitation centres and protecting women’s rights. “Did you elaborate on the fact that people you mentioned in your press conference and spe­cifically accused of leading a mob have now been ‘dry cleaned’ and that you and your subordinates now have the distinct honour of sa­luting them and all those who have been forced to leave PTI,” Omar asked in another query.