Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has decided to present a ‘secret letter’ before parliament, as the National Assembly (NA) session will resume on Thursday (today) after a recess of three days. The secret “threat letter” was shown to the cabinet members on a TV screen.
PM Khan also called a selected group of TV anchors and informed them about the contents of the letter. However, the letter was not shown to them.
National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar in a tweet said, “If the parliamentary leaders from the government and the opposition side agree, the issue of the sensitive letter can be discussed at an in-camera meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security.”
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry while speaking with Dawn said, “An in-camera session of the National Assembly or a joint sitting of parliament will be held in which the letter will be shared not only with the treasury benchers but also with those MNAs sitting on the opposition benches.”
State Department says no US government agency or official sent a letter to Pakistan
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government confirmed on Wednesday that its allegation about a foreign conspiracy against the premier was based on a “diplomatic cable”.
During the meeting with journalists, the media persons were informed that a Pakistani envoy was told by a senior official of the host country that they had issues with PM Khan’s foreign policy, especially his visit to Russia and the stance on the ongoing Ukrainian war.
The Pakistani envoy was further conveyed that the future trajectory of relations between the two countries was dependent upon the fate of the no-confidence motion that the Opposition parties were then planning to bring against the premier. The envoy was warned of serious implications if PM Khan survived the no-trust vote.
It was also reported that the cable was sent by Pakistan’s then-ambassador to the United States Asad Majeed Khan on the basis of his meeting with Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu.
Meanwhile, Americans deny in private discussions that any specific message was delivered to the Pakistani envoy, says Dawn.
Responding to questions from Dawn about the alleged letter and US involvement in the no-confidence motion against the PTI government, a State Department spokesperson said: “There is no truth to these allegations.”
Dawn further quotes a discussion with a few diplomats in accordance with the letter.
According to some diplomatic sources in Washington, the letter could be a diplomatic cable from Washington, drafted by a senior Pakistani diplomat. “The contents of the letter, apparently, are based on informal discussions between Pakistani and other officials,” one diplomatic source said.
A Western diplomat thinks that it has happened because someone had to be scapegoated for the current political crisis and there could have been no better option than the United States.
