According to Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Prime Minister Imran Khan has called a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) for today afternoon.
In a tweet, he announced that the meeting will take place in the afternoon at the Prime Minister’s House.
The National Security Council (NSC), which is the highest platform for security coordination, is led by the prime minister and includes important federal ministries, the national security adviser, military chiefs, and top intelligence officers.
The news comes a day after the premier shared a letter with his cabinet members in a hastily arranged meeting, which was not attended by PTI’s two biggest partners, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), despite invitations. The letter was reportedly shown to cabinet members on a television screen.
PM Imran also contacted a group of TV anchors to tell them that “the wording of the letter was menacing and arrogant” and that if the no-confidence motion failed, Pakistan would suffer terrible repercussions.
The letter, however, was not shown to the media by the premier.
Following the MQM-decision P’s to back the joint opposition in the no-trust resolution against the prime minister, it became evident that the prime minister had lost his majority in the National Assembly (NA).
The MQM-P, a crucial ally of the PTI government at the Centre, has seven seats in the National Assembly, and following its decision to break with the government, the opposition has garnered the support of 177 MNAs, five more than the 172 needed for a majority.
The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) met with Prime Minister Imran twice yesterday, following which several ministers said that the premier had not been asked to quit and would not choose to do so.
The ‘threat letter’ originally surfaced on Sunday during a PTI public rally, where the PM held it up as proof of a “foreign conspiracy” to depose him, urging his party’s dissidents, as well as disgruntled allies, to change their thoughts and avoid being complicit in the “foreign plan.”
PM Imran had decided to present the’secret letter’ at an in-camera session of the NA or a joint session of parliament, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry informed Dawn yesterday, but no date for such a session was announced.
“If the parliamentary leaders from the government and the opposition agree, the matter of the sensitive letter can be considered at an in-camera meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security,” National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar said in a tweet.
After a three-day hiatus, the National Assembly session will continue today at 4 p.m., with debate on the no-trust resolution on the agenda. The resolution is anticipated to be voted on on April 3rd.
The letter is a
The premier grabbed a piece of paper from his pocket and brandished it at the crowd at the PTI’s public meeting in Islamabad on Sunday, claiming it was evidence of a “international plot” to destabilise his administration.
“The administration is being swayed by foreign money. Money is being brought in from overseas, while people from within the country are being exploited. Some are completely oblivious that they are being used, while others are actively attempting to defraud us “He had made a claim.
Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar and Information Minister Chaudhry announced at a joint press conference on Tuesday that the prime minister had decided to deliver the letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial.
“If anyone has questions, the prime minister says that if required, and for the people’s satisfaction, he is ready to send the letter to the chief justice of the Supreme Court, since he enjoys a high reputation,” Umar said, adding that only three to four individuals had seen the letter, including himself.
“Only two or three cabinet members have seen the letter,” he said.
