File photo of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Aamir Qureshi—AFP
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had earlier claimed it was ready to share the ‘letter’ with the Chief Justice of Pakistan
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday announced that he will share a letter, allegedly containing threats to his government from a foreign power, with senior journalists and allied parties of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Addressing a ceremony to mark the launch of e-passport facility in Islamabad, he said that while a no-confidence vote was a “democratic” move, the current crisis against his leadership was “imported” from abroad. “This is a foreign imported conspiracy,” he claimed. “And it started when people from abroad started controlling Pakistan through telephone calls. They cannot tolerate a leadership that works in the people’s interest,” he said, referring to his party’s narrative of the opposition’s no-confidence motion being motivated by foreign powers who did not appreciate his government’s “independent foreign policy.”
Admitting that the public was finding it difficult to believe his claims in the absence of any evidence, the prime minister said that his sharing of the document should put to rest allegations that the foreign conspiracy had been concocted by his government in an attempt to save it. “This is no drama,” he had added.
On Sunday, while addressing a PTI rally in Islamabad, Khan had waved around a folded piece of paper before the audience, alleging it contained evidence of an “international conspiracy” to topple his government. “Foreign funding is being used to change the government,” he had alleged, adding that “money was from abroad” and several people involved in the no-trust vote were “unaware they are being used” in this manner.
The prime minister’s latest announcement follows a press conference from a day earlier in which Planning Minister Asad Umar and Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain had claimed Khan was ready to share the “threat letter” with Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial. Claiming that only a “few people” in the civil-military leadership had seen the letter thus far due to its “sensitivity,” Umar had said that the government felt its credibility could be addressed if a “senior and credible” person like the chief justice were provided access.
“I have seen this letter myself and a few members of the federal cabinet have also seen it as there are laws that dictate sharing such sensitive documents,” he had said, adding that the letter was delivered a day before the opposition submitted the no-confidence motion in the NA secretariat but explicitly mentioned it.
“It was also written that if the no-confidence motion fails and the prime minister remains in power, it can have severe consequences,” he said, adding that it also mentions Pakistan’s foreign policy. “No-confidence motion and foreign hand are interlinked, these are not two separate things,” he alleged.
According to Umar, former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader Nawaz Sharif was involved in the “conspiracy” against Khan. Alleging the PMLN leader had met officials from the “intelligence agencies of other countries” in London, information minister Chaudhry said he had been against sending Sharif abroad to prevent him from becoming a “stooge of international establishment.”
Despite the government’s repeated insistence of a “foreign conspiracy” behind the opposition’s no-confidence motion, opposition parties have rejected the narrative and maintained that they are seeking his ouster due to his “incompetence” and poor governance.