ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Monday said that the statement by ex-prime minister Imran Khan against a national institution was in fact a conspiracy against Pakistan and the institution, while calling for Imran to be immediately reined in in order to avert chaos.

The prime minister, while addressing the National Assembly session on Monday, said if the situation was not controlled, Pakistan could meet a fate like Syria and Libya.

He said the same institution at the target of Imran Khan’s criticism, had extended unprecedented support to Imran Khan’s government which he was now referring to as Mir Jafar.

While addressing a rally in Abbottabad on Sunday, Imran repeated that “Mir Jafars and Mir Sadiqs” were responsible for his government’s ouster. He also spoke against the concept of neutrality, as in previous speeches, stating that only animals are neutral while humans must pick a side.

While Imran’s neutrality comment ostenisbly targets the Pakistan army, the story about Mir Jaffar and Mir Sadiq is believed to target the PDM leadership.

PM Shehbaz, however, stated that Imran had maligned the institution, in another reference to the army, by equating it with traitors.

“If it was not stopped using constitutional and legal means, it can lead to chaos,” he said.

Referring to the PTI chairman’s narrative of regime change conspiracy by the United States, the prime minister said Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington had explained that the conversation (with the US official) was threatening but it had nothing to do with any conspiracy against Imran Khan’s government.

He said the letter by the ambassador was also read out at the National Security Committee, which also ruled out the a conspiracy due to lack of evidence.

Citing examples from history of threats to Pakistan, the prime minister said Henry Kissinger had threatened Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to roll back the nuclear program, US official Richar Armitage threatened Pakistan officials after 9/11 and Russia wrote a threatening letter to Yahya Khan.

“Every day, we hurl threats to India and India does the same to Pakistan. Should we call it a conspiracy?” he commented.

He said it was Imran Khan who had wished Indian PM Narendra Modi to win the election in India in the hope that it would be helpful in resolving the Kashmir dispute. “But [Modi] did not respond to his call.”

Speaking about power outages across the country, the premier said that the load shedding in the country would be reduced after May. He said that the PTI government failed to procure oil and gas on time which led to the shortfall in power generation.

Criticizing PTI government’s economic policies, the premier said that the fiscal deficit - which stands at Rs5.5 billion - is the highest in the country’s history. He added that total loans increased by 85% in the four years that Imran Khan was at the helm.

The prime minister said that the PTI-led government took loans but nothing was done in terms of development anywhere.