The new Prime Minister-elect, Shahbaz Sharif, on Monday, announced that he would probe into the matter of the “threat letter.”
In his maiden speech as the country’s prime minister, he said that he would call a meeting of the parliamentary committee on national security and would receive an in-camera briefing on the “foreign-funded conspiracy” from all members of the National Security Committee.
Members of the National Security Committee would include the services chiefs and the intelligence chief DG ISI Lt. Gen. Nadeem Anjum as well. PM Sharif emphasized that he would hear the case in an in-camera briefing because he wanted to mark an end to this controversy.
#BREAKING: Ambassador @asadmk17 to give us in-camera briefing on #LetterGate. COAS General Bajwa, DG ISI and heads of all armed forces to be part of this in-camera session. #PMElectShahbazSharif
— Zahid Gishkori (@ZahidGishkori) April 11, 2022
On top of all this, the Prime Minister-elect said that he would have Pakistan’s former Ambassador to America, who sent the diplomatic cable to Pakistan, explain the letter. PM Sharif has claimed to submit his resignation in no time if the committee agrees that there was indeed a foreign conspiracy behind the ouster of Prime Minister Imran Khan from the office.
“On behalf of this House, I assure the nation that if any involvement is proved, I will not stay as prime minister for even a second and go home after tendering resignation,” he declared.
Threat letter
Shortly after the opposition tabled the vote of no confidence resolution against Imran Khan, the Prime Minister came out to make a jarring revelation before the people.
In a public rally on 27th March former Prime Minister Imran Khan waved a piece of paper claiming it to be a threatening foreign letter and a proof of the existence of a “foreign-funded conspiracy” to overthrow his government.
Read more: Why I refused to head letter gate commission? Gen. Tariq Khan
What was initially believed to be a letter turned out to be a diplomatic cable from Pakistan’s Ambassador to America, and it contained the minutes of his meeting with an American diplomat, Donald Lu.
The cable immediately sparked a debate among the public, with some taking the prime minister’s word while others were denying the existence of any such a letter, including some seasoned journalists and the opposition parties.
Amidst speculations of a foreign-funded conspiracy to topple Imran Khan’s government, a National Assembly session convened to vote against him was called off abruptly under the pretext of article 5, only to be immediately reconvened under the Supreme courts orders. In the following National Assembly session, after the supreme court’s verdict Shehbaz Sharif was elected as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the government was working to declassify the letter and show it to the relevant authorities. The cable was finally declassified on 09-04-2022, and a copy of that was sent to the National Assembly Speakers’ office.
Read more: ‘Imported Hakumat Na-manzoor’ tweeted over three million times
As the proceedings began in the National Assembly on 11 March, deputy speaker Qasim Suri announced to forward the declassified diplomatic cable received by the Pakistani Ambassador to the United States for a regime change in Pakistan to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Umar Ata Bandial.
Following Shahbaz’s election to the PM’s seat, thousands of protestors flocked to the streets chanting slogans such as “Imported Hakumat Na-manzoor,” which roughly translates to “Imported government, unacceptable.”
The slogan was also the top trending hashtag on all social media platforms.