Amidst the no-confidence motion, the revelation of a threatening foreign dispatch by PM Khan in a public rally held on March 27 in the nation’s capital Islamabad took the whole country by storm. PM Khan waved the piece of paper in front of the public during the power showdown, claiming it to be part of a “foreign conspiracy” hatched to topple his government.
The letter immediately sparked a debate among the public, with some taking the prime minister’s word while others denied the existence of any such a letter, including some seasoned journalists and the opposition parties. Senior opposition leader Maryam Nawaz claimed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs drafted the letter.
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As the heat of the moment settled, details emerged about a telegraph sent to the PM and three other quarters, including the COAS office, from Asad Majeed Khan, Pakistan’s then-Ambassador to the United States, based on his formal meeting with the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu. According to an official, Islamabad received the telegram on March 7, just a day before the joint Opposition submitted a no-confidence motion against Premier Khan in the National Assembly on March 8, yet apparently, it referred to the importance of the no-confidence motion and its success.
PM Khan summoned leading journalists to his office, where they were briefed about the memo’s contents on March 30. Asad Umar, present at the meeting, told journalists that the memo mentions that if the no-confidence motion passes, everything will be forgiven for Pakistan, and “in case of its failure, the problems for Pakistan will increase.” PM Khan also announced he would share the letter with the Chief Justice of Pakistan. A day later, on March 31, the 37th meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) was called. National security adviser Moeed Yusuf briefed the participants about the contents of the alleged letter. The NSC decided to issue a “strong demarche” to a country that it did not name over
the ‘threat letter’ — purportedly showing evidence of a foreign conspiracy to oust the PTI-led government — terming it “blatant interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan.”
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Later that day, PM Khan, while talking about the letter during the live televised address to the nation, said, “America threatened me,” after which he immediately tried to correct himself by saying that “it was a foreign country.” His statement sparked a debate among the public, leaving people contemplating whether it was deliberate or a slip of the tongue on the part of the prime minister while speaking live on television.
The US state department has denied any US involvement in the matter. At the same time, Pakistan filed a formal complaint against the US through diplomatic channels over its alleged role in conspiring the regime change in Pakistan.