Former Interior Minister and the current secretary-general of Pakistan Muslim League-N, Ahsan Iqbal, took to Twitter and said that “the captain [PM Khan] is now begging the joint opposition for an NRO [National Reconciliation Ordinance].” Ahsan Iqbal said that the Prime Minister was getting a taste of his own medicine and further added that “he [PM] was the one who used to say I won’t give them [PML-N] an NRO, and now he is begging for an NRO himself.” Miftah Ismail, former finance minister of Pakistan during the tenure of the PML-N government, also took a similar tone in his tweet where he threw a question to his Twitter followers in a tweet that read, “Guess who is pleading for an NRO now?”
Shortly after his initial tweet, Ahsan Iqbal made another post on the social media platform and said that “Seeing his certain defeat, the captain tried to throw dust in the eyes of the nation with a letter of drama but failed miserably” he further questioned the authenticity of the letter and expressed his belief that the letter was fabricated. He added that “What started from a threatening letter from another country ended up being a fabricated letter written by the Prime Ministers’ own dignitaries.” He followed his remarks by saying that the only victim in all this was the foreign policy of Pakistan which the Prime Minister had left before the world to be mocked.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister, Shahbaz Gill, responding to the tweets made by the members of the opposition said in a press conference that “The Prime Minister has not presented any resolution that would even hint that he wants to resign” he further rejected the claims that the Prime Minister was begging for an NRO adding that the Prime Minister was ready to play till the last ball.
Read More: PM Khan might share the “foreign conspiracy” letter with Chief Justice
The Prime Minister first revealed the letter in his Islamabad rally. Addressing a roaring crowd in Islamabad, he said that he had received a letter that he claimed contained evidence of an ongoing “foreign-funded conspiracy” in Pakistan. Ahsan Iqbal responding to the opposition’s alleged involvement in the “foreign-funded conspiracy,” said at a media conference that “We are all Pakistanis and we can oppose each other politically but we cannot be enemies of each other. All political parties are Pakistani and there is no doubt about their commitment and loyalty to the country and its people. They all are working to solve issues of people. We should promote unity and tolerance in the country instead of hatred.”
Two days after the Prime Minister first revealed the letter to the public, Planning Minister Asad Umar and Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary, amidst speculations of it being a political stunt, addressed a news conference in which they confirmed the letter’s existence. Planning Minister Asad Umar announced in the press conference that the Prime Minister was even ready to show the letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan. A copy of the letter has been given to the concerned departments, but under the official secrets act, the letter can not be revealed to any member of the public. Last night, the country’s leading journalists were invited to the PM’s house, where they were briefed about the letter; however, the official language of the letter was not revealed.
Read More: The curious case of a secret letter to Imran Khan
The Prime Minister has had several meetings with top civil and military leadership in the days following his Islamabad rally. The Prime Minister also held a National Security Council meeting today in which the current political and security situation of the country was discussed. Moreover, according to a media report, the Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff had three meetings in the last 24 hours.
Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to address the nation tonight.