Prime Minister Imran Khan has further spilt the beans about the alleged threat letter, which he received from the country’s former ambassador to the US, and reiterated that the united opposition’s no-confidence move was part of a “foreign conspiracy” hatched to oust his government.
Many PTI leaders had gone to the PM House after National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri prorogued the parliament session and rejected the opposition’s no-trust move and termed terming it against Article 5 of the Constitution.
“The opposition submitted a no-confidence motion against PM Imran on March 8 and it should abide by the Constitution and law. No foreign conspiracy is allowed to oust the elected government in Pakistan,” Suri had said and termed the points raised by the law minister as “valid and right”.
Moments after, the premier addressed the nation where he advised the president to dissolve the National Assembly and called for early elections. Subsequently, President Arif Alvi dissolved the lower house of parliament. Such developments prompted the opposition to move to the Supreme Court, which will on Monday (today) resume the hearing on a suo motu case about the political crisis that emerged after the Sunday NA session on the no-trust vote.
Addressing parliamentarians at the PM House Islamabad on Sunday, the premier reiterated that he had advised his party leaders to “do not panic.” He claimed that the opposition was still in shock over the political climax of the no-confidence motion.
“They did not realise that when Pakistan’s National Security Council explicitly said that there was the interference of the foreign country in this no-confidence motion,” he said, adding that the complete communiqué, “involving Pakistan’s ambassador to the US and their representative Donald Lu or whoever it was,” was shared with the council.
PM Imran added that official note-takers were present on both sides during the meeting. He said minutes were issued after the meeting of NSC, where it was confirmed that “it was a planned plot from the outside to interfere in Pakistan’s internal politics and the basis of the no-confidence motion was foreign.”
Further proving his point of argument, he questioned the purpose of the embassy staff meetings with the turncoats. He admitted that staff meets heads of the political parties, however, he questioned the meetings with such political leaders. “All this was connected with the no-confidence motion, which was initiated from outside.”
He was of the view that such parliamentary proceedings were “irrelevant” when the country’s highest security body confirmed such claims. “All those [opposition] would not have been in shock if I had told you [PTI parliamentarians] about the move.”
Moreover, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, whom the premier named in his meeting with lawmakers, “refused” to get drawn into the controversy about an allegation of a US conspiracy to oust the premier in an interview with Hindustan Times.
Lu, who was visiting India, was named by PM Imran as one of the officials who met with Pakistan’s former ambassador in the US.
“We are following developments in Pakistan and we respect and support Pakistan’s constitutional process and the rule of law,” he said.
