| PM also to convene meeting of National Security Council to discuss threatening document | Says document carrying threat from foreign power was sent by Pakistani Envoy | Avoids to name the threatening country
By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that a Pakistani envoy posted in a foreign country wrote the memo that he flashed on March 27 in a rally and termed it “threatening”, sources told.
The premier, while interacting with journalists, said the envoy had sent the letter to Pakistan after he met an official of a foreign country, according to sources.
PM Imran Khan said the memo was shared with the military leadership, according to sources, and mentioned that the tone used in the cable was “threatening”.
The prime minister said the memo would be shared with parliamentarians during an in-camera session, but noted that the name of the country that “threatened” Pakistan could not be shared — as national security laws are applicable.
Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, who attended the briefing, ac cording to sources, told the journalists that the memo mentions that if the no-confidence motion passes, everything will be forgiven for Pakistan.
Umar further said that the letter mentions that “in case of its failure, the problems for Pakistan will increase.”
In his March 27 address to a PTI rally, the prime minister had revealed that “foreign elements” are involved in the attempts to topple his government and said, “some of our own people” are being used in this regard.
In a press conference Tuesday, Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar had said PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif joined hands with foreign powers and is involved in the “conspiracy” against PM Imran Khan.
The PML-N supremo is in London and he has met officials from the “intelligence agencies of other countries”. The federal minister said the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) leadership is not “unaware” of the letter.
The letter was waived by PM Imran Khan in a public rally as he faces a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly. The premier on Wednesday had lost his majority in Parliament after MQM-P decided to party ways with the PTI.
Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Wednesday said Prime Minister Imran Khan took the Federal Cabinet members into confidence over the “threat letter”.
“The letter’s content was shared with the Federal Cabinet as it was shared by our ambassador with the government under the Official Secret Act,” he said while talking to the media.
The minister said the gist of the letter had also been shared with some anchorpersons, who hosted talk shows on the foreign affairs.
“In the next phase, we have a plan to table it [letter] in an in-camera session of the Parliament,” he added. The government had already expressed its desire to share the letter with the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
“The kind of language, plan and threats given in the letter are unacceptable for any sovereign country,” said Fawad, who believed that the prime minister would continue to fight for the country’s integrity and sovereignty, and the respect of nation.
Ruling out the possibility of the PM’s resignation, he said Imran Khan would fight till the last ball.
He also equated the current political situation with the 1992 Cricket World Cup when the Pakistan team had a poor start, but eventually won its final.
Fawad predicted a bleak political future for dissident Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI)members of National Assembly.
He said the PTI had a firm stand that the Pakistan Army was a guarantor of the national security and stability. Unlike the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz which attempted to “conquer” the institutions during its government tenures, he said, the PTI had been working with them in close coordination for the national progress and prosperity.
