An audio clip allegedly of PTI leaders, Shaukat Tarin, Taimur Salim Jhagra and Mohsin Laghari, has been making the rounds in whichthe finance czars speak about Pakistan’s deal with the International Monetary Fund and PTI ruled provinces’ apparent inability to meet the global lender’s requirement.

“We will create a sitaution in which it would not show that we are damaging the state,” former finance minister Shaukat Tarin was quoted as saying in the alleged audio clip. He was responding to the Punjab Finance Minister Laghari’s query over the decision to raise the issue of the IMF deal.

The alleged audio tape comes a couple of days after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Taimur Jhagra had written a letter to Miftah, saying that it would be “next to impossible” for the provincial government to leave a surplus. The coalition government in reaction to the letter had vowed to defeat the PTI-led “conspiracy to sabotage” the IMF deal.

PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry earlier had hinted at such letters. Tarin in a tweet on Sunday warned Miftah of a similar letter from the Punjab government if KP issues were not resolved.

Tarin’s ‘conversation’ with Jhagra script

Taimur: Shaukat Sb, Salam Alaikum.

Tarin: Sir, have you written that letter [apparently the one written to the Miftah on Aug 26]?

Taimur: I will make it now, I have an old letter. I am on the way I will check sir. I will make it now…

Tarin: Make it, add the biggest point it. You have already made other points.

Taimur: Yes

Tarin: Tell that floods in Pakistan have devastated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Taimur: Yes

Tarin: So, we need a lot of money for its rehabilitation.

Taimur: Yes

Tarin: Alright. I have also asked Laghari [Punjab’s finance minister]. He [Laghari] has also said that they would also have to spend a lot of money.

Taimur: By the way, it’s a blackmailing tactic as no one has to leave the money in any case. I will not spare the money… I don’t know whether Laghari had to spare it or not.

Tarin: If you [Taimur] don’t want to take it then we will also ask him [Laghari] to spare it. But, today we have to do that we write this letter and the “astrays” of IMF and send the copy to him so that these people should know that they were keeping the money by “arm cushioning”.

Taimur: OK

Tarin: We will take that money, OK?

Taimur: I will make it… I also know the IMF no 2 [second in command], who is here. So I usually take all information from them. So they will do it. Mohsin [Laghari] also telephoned me. I talked to him as well.

Tarin: Yes

Taimur: And… this I will with you. Both Khab Sb and Mehmood Khan told me that it was also discussed in yesterday’s meeting that we should address a press conference together but I don’t know what, when?

Tarin: There will not be a press conference? It was that we will do this… and after this, we will organise the seminar on Monday. Now if a press conference is to be held on top of this, we all can do that. All three of us will sit together and send the letter to them.

Taimur: Let us first do the letter.

Tarin: Yes, first we have to do the letter… so that it should be ascertained. Alright?

Taimur: Alright, OK OK.

Tarin’s ‘conversation’ with Laghari script

Tarin: Sir how are you?

Laghari: Yes, Shaukat Sb. Assalam Alaikum one minute. I can ask a secretary to draft something.

Tarin: The commitment, which you all have given after signing, towards IMF for the 750 billion. So now you have to say that Mr the commitment that we gave was before the flood. Now we have to spend a lot of money on floods. So, for this reason, we are informing you in advance that we will not be able to honour our commitment.

Laghari: OK

Tarin: This has to be written. You have to do nothing else. So that’s all we want that when there will be pressure on these people who are saving themselves and putting us behind bars and putting charges of terrorism against us and they are going completely spot free we don’t want this to happen. Taimur [Jhagra] is also sending in an hour to me. You should also ask him to send me. And, then we after doing this do this in a way finally we can send it to the federal government. And then obviously we will also release it and also to the IMF representative.

Laghari: Sir one thing will this harm our state? Would Pakistan as a state suffer because of this sir?

Tarin: Well frankly speaking you know isn’t the state suffering because of the way they get treated your [PTI] chairman [Imran Khan] and everybody else? See this will happen, IMF will say from where you will fill this financial gap. So this and they will bring mini-budget whatever will come. But the very fact is that we have to tell them this time that. We can’t you know stand on one side that they are mistreating us and in the name of state they blackmail and we help them. So this cannot happen. This is what was decided yesterday. We have to now… that is how we should do this that it should be released to the IMF or not? We will ask that from the chairman. You will be there and we will talk.

Laghari: Sir

Tarin: Should we just send it to the federal government even then we should raise it with the IMF.

Laghari: There is no more powerful tool than social media.

Tarin: Yes so then we would not have the need to release it. Social media would do that and Taimur was saying that he knows there [IMF] no 2 very well so I will leak it in that way. So we will create a scene that it would not show that we are damaging the state. In the end of the day, we should keep facts you would not be able to give it, so when you will not be able to deliver that means commitments zero.

Laghari: Of course.

Tarin: So we should tell them that we would not be able to deliver.

Laghari: OK.

This comes as the IMF’s executive board is set to meet today (Monday) for the combined seventh and eight reviews under the Extended Fund Facility. Pakistan was hopeful that the global lender would approved the release of more than $1 billion for the country.