Reaffirms Pakistan\u2019s close relationship with China
\n ISLAMABAD
\nPakistan\u2019s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has accused the former premier Imran Khan of being \u201cthe biggest liar on the face of the earth\u201d and injecting poison into society to \u201cdangerously polarise the electorate\u201d after he was toppled from power earlier this year.
\nSpeaking in his first interview to The Guardian since he took over as prime minister in April, Sharif, 70, spoke unsparingly of the \u201cdamage\u201d that Khan, the former cricket superstar who ruled Pakistan from 2018, had done to the country in both domestic and foreign affairs.
\nPakistan is currently in the midst of an unprecedented economic crisis, as it grapples with mounting inflation, sky-high foreign debt, declining foreign currency reserves and now more than $30bn of damage after the country was hit by the worst flooding in its history in August, a climate crisis-driven disaster that left 1,600 dead and millions without shelter and clean water.
\nSharif, who is the younger brother of the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and part of one of Pakistan\u2019s most powerful political dynasties, called Khan \u201ca liar and a cheat\u201d whose policies had left the economy in ruins.
\nHe accused Khan, who ran on an anti-corruption manifesto, of conducting the country\u2019s affairs to suit his own personal agenda \u201cin a manner which can be only described as the most inexperienced, self-centred, egotistical, immature politician in the history of this country\u201d.
\nKhan, who still retains huge popularity among swathes of voters, was removed from power in April this year after a vote of no confidence which saw many of his allies in parliament turn against him. Khan was found to have violated the constitution in an attempt to stop the vote from going ahead, and he also threatened to impose martial law rather than hand over power to the opposition coalition.
\nKhan made repeated allegations that the vote was a \u201cforeign conspiracy\u201d against him by the US and claimed to have a diplomatic cable to prove it, despite public denials by the US, the military and figures in government, and in private meetings with diplomats. The issue was further inflamed last week after audio recordings of private informal conversations, held by Khan in his office when he was prime minister, were leaked on to the internet. The audio leaks allegedly captured Khan discussing how to fabricate a conspiracy about a foreign threat, with him heard saying they would \u201cplay with the cable\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Reaffirms Pakistan\u2019s close relationship with China ISLAMABAD Pakistan\u2019s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has accused the former premier Imran Khan of being \u201cthe biggest liar on the face of the earth\u201d and injecting poison into society to \u201cdangerously polarise the electorate\u201d after he was toppled from power earlier this year. Speaking in his first interview to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286391,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[10918,2833,5822],"class_list":{"0":"post-287398","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-biggest-liar","9":"tag-imran-khan","10":"tag-pm-shehbaz-sharif"},"yoast_head":"\n