For the better part of the last two years Najam Sethi was consistently demonised by the PTI. Imran Khan accused Sethi of colluding with the PML-N to rig the elections in their favour and the rest of the party ran with it, insulting, shaming and condemning Sethi for his dishonesty and betrayal of solemn duty. The colloquial term “35 punctures” became a byword of PML-N corruption and Sethi’s reputation took a tumble – albeit helped by his own erratic behaviour while in charge of the Pakistan Cricket Board and the manner of his appointment. The damage done, and Sethi’s position as a villain in PTI cannon assured; Imran Khan casually mentions that all the “35 punctures” remarks were just “political talk” in a televised interview.

What this means is that all those angry speeches and dire accusations were made only to generate political pressure. It means that the leader who promised to “never lie to the nation”, lied to its face consistently, and that too just to play politics. It makes us wonder how many other statements were based on the truth and home may were just ‘political statements’. Imran khan understands that the right words will excite the crowd and draw loud cheers, but he must understand that words have consequences.

This is not a case of Imran Khan clarifying a confused issue; everyone knew exactly what the “35 punctures” meant. It supposedly alluded to a specific recorded call in which Sethi assured Nawaz Sharif that 35 specific constituencies have been rigged – a call that was heard by the senior party members. But it turns out the origin of the story lies in an anecdote told to a friend who repeated it to another and so on, in short; based on unsubstantiated hearsay. In such circumstances an apology by Imran Khan to Najam Sethi is merited – after all he accused him of corruption and rigging without fact-checking – and some senior members of the party calling for it too. But in true PTI belligerent fashion, Jehangir Tareen has said that instead of 35 Najam Sethi made 71 punctures. What does that even mean? Does it mean he rigged 71 constituencies? Should this be taken as an accusation based on truth or as a “political statement”. Or is it just a roundabout way of saying that PTI stands by what it said – despite the fact that the leader admits otherwise. PTI needs to understand the consequences of baseless accusations, and the difference between true, false and political statement.

When Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf emerged from the triumphant Lahore rally of 2011 its political credibility was spotless – free from taint of deceit or selfish motivations – and that drew people to it in droves. During the proceeding four year PTI has lost most of those qualities and is fast becoming the very evil it ostensibly sought to destroy. The final nail may have been hammered in by the Chairman, Imran Khan himself.