Embattled Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan gave a calling to the people of Pakistan to stand up to protect the country’s sovereignty. The Prime Minister Imran Khan exhorted the people to hit the streets and protest peacefully against what he called an “imported government”. Imran has been making claims that foreign powers are attempting to topple his government as they want a pliable man at the top. He also accused the Opposition of hobnobbing with them in a bid to wriggle out of corruption cases and make money.
“We got to know that US diplomats were meeting our people. Then we got to know about the entire plan,” Imran said, adding that he is not in a position to publicly release all the details due to national security concerns.
In his late-night address to the nation ahead of the crucial no-trust vote against him onApril 9, he criticized the Opposition for indulging in blatant horse-trading, claiming that politicians are being bought and sold like sheep. He also criticized the Pakistan media for what he felt was “celebrating” the government’s fall.
Praising India he said that no superpower can dictate terms to it as it’s a sovereign nation. “None of them has the guts to speak to India like that,” Imran said,
News agency IANS reports that Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that he was “saddened” by the ruling of the Supreme Court but would respect it. In the address to the nation, Khan however, rued that the top court did not consider the “foreign conspiracy” angle in its April 7 verdict and should have at least initiated a probe.
“I respect the Supreme Court and the judiciary, but the apex court should have looked at the threat letter before issuing the verdict,” Khan said, complaining that it did not take the matter of the “threat letter” seriously, Geo News reported.
“There was foreign interference in Pakistan’s no-confidence motion. I wanted the SC to at least look at it, it was a very serious allegation that a foreign country wants to topple the government through a conspiracy.
“The SC could have at least asked for and looked at the document to gauge whether we’re speaking the truth. I was a bit disappointed because this is a very big issue and there was no discussion on it in the SC.”
Citing his arrest under a previous regime, Khan said that he strongly believes that the judiciary is the guardian of justice in the country, but added that he was disappointed by the court’s stand on the Constitution’s Article 63 (A) regarding horse-trading.
“The youth of Pakistan is our future and if they see leaders selling their conscience, what precedent are we setting for them,” he asked.
Even the MNAs who came on reserved seats were tainted by the malaise of horse-trading, he added.
About the threat letter, he said that it could not be shared publicly as it is in code and if these codes are revealed, “all secret information of Pakistan will be unveiled”.
Khan also said that in the meeting of the Pakistani Ambassador to the US with a top US official, the latter had castigated his visit to Russia.
He claimed that even before the no-confidence motion was filed against him, the US official had warned the Pakistani Ambassador that if Imran Khan manages to save himself, Pakistan will have to face “severe consequences”, adding that the US seemed to know the opposition’s plan in advance and also who would be the new PM.
He said that the Ambassador was told that if Imran Khan is ousted, Pakistan will be spared no matter who takes the charge, and alleged that PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, “who apparently has prepared his sherwani for the oath-taking ceremony”, was involved in this “foreign conspiracy”.
On April 7, the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared “unconstitutional” NA Deputy Speaker QasimSuri’s ruling scrapping the no-confidence motion and the government’s subsequent move to dissolve the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, the chief of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lieutenant General NadeemAnjum, called on Prime Minister Imran Khan on April 8, a day after the Supreme Court restored the National Assembly and ordered a vote on the no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister on April 9, Samaa TV reported.
During the meeting held at the Prime Minister’s house, Khan and Anjum discussed the prevailing situation in the country along with key security issues, the report said.
The meeting came as Khan explores his options after the apex court ruling, which leaves little room for him to maneuver.
On April 8, Khan also held a meeting of PTI’s political committee which was attended by Pervez Khattak, Asad Umar, FawadChaudhry and Sheikh Rashid.
Sheikh Rashid later told reporters that he had advised Khan that all the PTI MNAs should submit resignations en masse to force fresh elections.
The PTI’s political committee discussed the future line of action, including a campaign to reach out to the public.