NSC meeting briefed on ‘threat letter’ to PM Imran-led govt: sources

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday chaired a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting in Islamabad to take the top civil and military leadership into confidence over the “threat letter” and the “foreign conspiracy” behind the no-confidence motion against him in the National Assembly.

Top civil and military leadership including federal ministers, services chief and DG ISI were among the attendees of the meeting.

The participants of the meeting were briefed on the contents of the “secret letter” received by the government, said the well-placed sources.

Earlier in the day, Federal Information Minister Fawad Chauhdry took to Twitter to share the development, saying the meeting would take place today at PM Office. 

The minister did not share further details about the agenda but the country's top brass is likely to review the "threat letter" and the ongoing political crisis in the country.

The government decided to convene the NSC meeting after the PTI's political committee suggested taking all the stakeholders on board regarding the memo.

The secret cable, reportedly sent by the Pakistani envoy in Washington, has been the talk of the town since March 27 when the premier informed a public gathering in Islamabad that his government had received “threats from abroad”.

Without sharing further details, the PM had claimed that the “no-trust motion against is foreign-funded” and an attempt to dislodge his government due to the country’s independent foreign policy.

US rejects claims

Reacting to the reports, US State Department on Wednesday categorically rejected any kind of involvement in the matter.

A day earlier, pressed by the Opposition and various other quarters, PM Imran Khan shared the contents of the secret letter in his meeting with senior journalists.

The journalists were informed that the letter is the word-for-word transcript of an official conversation between the diplomats of Pakistan and another powerful country sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Federal Minister Asad Umar told the journalists that Pakistan has been given a message that “everything would be forgiven” if the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan succeeds, but its failure would entail serious consequences for Pakistan.

Responding to a question asked by Geo News regarding the 'threat letter," the US State Department said: “Allegations of US involvement in the no-trust motion and ‘threat letter’ to PM Imran Khan are baseless.”

The US government is monitoring the political situation in Pakistan and supports the rule of law in the country, the State Department said.

Regarding the question of a no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, the US State Department said that they respect the constitutional process in Pakistan.