The 38th meeting of the National Security Committee. Courtesy PID
The National Security Committee (NSC) on Friday bluntly asserted that it has found no evidence of a “foreign conspiracy” behind the ouster of Imran Khan and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government in yet another setback to the former ruling party’s narrative of the vote of no-confidence being instigated by the U.S.
Chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the 38th NSC meeting discussed the contents of the diplomatic cable sent from the Pakistan Embassy in Washington on the basis of discussions between former ambassador to the U.S. Asad Majeed and an American official. According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Majeed briefed the NSC on the context and content of his telegram—which the PTI has repeatedly asserted “threatened” Pakistan with “consequences” if Khan were not ousted through a vote of no-confidence in the National Assembly.
“The NSC, after examining the contents of the communication, reaffirmed the decision of the last NSC meeting,” read the statement. “The NSC was again informed by the premier security agencies that they have found no evidence of any conspiracy,” it said. “Therefore, the NSC, after reviewing the contents of the communication, the assessments received, and the conclusions presented by the security agencies, concludes that there has been no foreign conspiracy,” it added.
In addition to the prime minister and the former ambassador to the U.S., the meeting was attended by federal ministers Khawaja Asif, Rana Sanaullah, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Ahsan Iqbal; Minister of State Hina Rabbani Khar; Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee Gen. Nadeem Raza; Chief of Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa; Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi; Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar; and other senior civil and military officials.
This is the second statement issued by the NSC on the diplomatic cable that has become the lynchpin of the PTI’s narrative of “foreign regime change.” In March, the NSC had decided to issue a “strong demarche” to an unidentified country—later confirmed to be the U.S. by the PTI chairman—over what it had described as “blatant interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan.” However, the forum had stopped short of declaring the “interference” a “conspiracy,” unlike the narrative being peddled by Khan.
Addressing a press conference earlier this month, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Maj. Gen. Babar Iftikhar explicitly rubbished the PTI’s claims by noting that the word “conspiracy” had not been not used in the statement issued after the NSC meeting of March. “The words used are in front of you … the words used are clear. Is there any word such as conspiracy used in it? I think not,” he had said, adding that demarches were issued for various reasons and did not necessarily imply authorities believed there had been any conspiracy at play. “In this case, it was given for undiplomatic language and … interference,” he had added.
PTI undeterred
In a statement issued after the NSC meeting, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who is also the former foreign minister, claimed his party’s stance had been validated by it, as it had “endorsed” the viewpoint of the meeting held in March. “Bilawal and Maryam were saying that this document was fabricated, not based on facts and drafted in the Foreign Office. Today, the NSC endorsed the document after receiving a briefing from the former envoy, which proves that it was based on facts and was correct,” he said, seemingly ignoring that his party has repeatedly alleged a “foreign conspiracy” despite the NSC never specifying the same.
Qureshi alleged that the statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office endorsed the minutes of the March meeting. “They [minutes] say there was interference in Pakistan’s internal and political matters,” he said, adding that it was also clear which country was responsible for the interference. “Today, the current government has further damaged its credibility and the people’s trust,” he said, and accused the incumbent setup of attempting a “cover up.”
The PTI leader reiterated his party chairman’s call for the formation of a judicial commission to probe the matter by conducting an open hearing.
The U.S. has repeatedly rejected the allegations of the PTI and Imran Khan, stressing that it does not prefer any one political party over another in Pakistan. This stance has also been validated by PTI leader Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, who told a private broadcaster earlier this week that the PTI-led government would have remained in power if its ties with the establishment had not gotten “strained.”