No evidence of conspiracy against Imran govt

ISLAMABAD: The National Security Committee (NSC) meeting discussed the “conspiracy” issue linked to the “threatening communication” from the US state department, but because there was no evidence to substantiate this serious allegation, the committee restricted itself only to issue a demarche to US.

A highly placed informed source told The News that there was a consensus in the Security Committee meeting to issue demarche to the US for what it had said about the PTI government. The civilian side had also raised the issue of conspiracy, but the military side insisted that there was no evidence to declare it a “conspiracy” on the basis of conjectures.

The source said that the NSC unanimously decided to issue the demarche because what was conveyed on behalf of the US administration was both inappropriate and offensive against Pakistan. In diplomatic affairs, issuing demarche is quite a routine affair, the source explained.

This correspondent was also told that the relevant agencies did not find any proof or evidence to substantiate the conspiracy thing. The source lamented that how could anyone declare political leaders traitors on the basis of conjectures. This is dangerous for the country as well as national politics.

It is also learnt that the defence establishment can only speak on the issue once the Supreme Court decides the case (of speaker’s ruling) it is hearing. The opposition leaders are demanding the military establishment speak on the matter.

Interaction with PTI sources, however, show that the issue of “threatening communication” has been turned into a conspiracy to make it a political issue.

A former minister, who was also member of the National Security Committee, told The News that the PTI leadership has concluded to declaring it a US “conspiracy” on the basis of linking the diplomatic communication to the intelligence bureau’s reports about the meetings of the key opposition leaders and the dissenting PTI MNAs.

Sources close to joint opposition, meanwhile, gave a lie to all the allegations, saying that the government held the cable back and didn’t bother to probe it to prove charges against the opposition leaders.

The government acted with much alacrity on a planned escape from no-confidence motion against the prime minister. The PTI minister and deputy speaker ended the assembly proceedings in three minutes after levelling charges; after two minutes the prime minister spoke on the occasion, and after that the president dissolved the National Assembly in just two minutes.

They did it so to make it a part of their election campaign, the source said, adding that in case of a probe they would have been proved conspirators.

The PTI leader said that the government had details of Nawaz Sharif’s meetings in London during the last few months, Bilawal Bhutto’s interactions in the US during his last visit to Washington, and who from the opposition leaders and PTI dissenting MNAs within Pakistan met which foreign diplomat.

The former minister, however, insisted that their government did not want to pursue the “conspiracy” case because of complications involved. Independent sources warn that in a situation where the PTI has made it a political issue and declared its opponents “traitors” without any solid proof, any clarification on the issue by the military establishment would lead to a possible social media campaign against the defence authorities.

A British wire service on Tuesday reported, citing an official with knowledge of the matter, Pakistan's security agencies have not found credible evidence to confirm Prime Minister Imran Khan's allegation of a foreign conspiracy.

However, the official, who is privy to such proceedings, told Reuters, requesting anonymity, that the security agencies had not come to the same conclusion as the prime minister and had communicated their view to him.

On the other hand, TV anchor Nadeem Malik claimed in his programme that he sent written queries to top government quarters regarding an alleged conspiracy at the US behest against the Imran Khan government, and that if Pakistan’s premier agencies had endorsed the allegations.

Malik said he had received response in written from the relevant quarters that the National Security Committee (NSC) that the NSC handout did not mention any “foreign conspiracy, threat or internal collaboration (from opposition)”.

The responsible institutions had clearly informed the NSC that they had found no evidence of “foreign conspiracy, threat or internal collaboration,” Malik added.

Malik said the written response he had could also go the Supreme Court, given the precedent of Memogate when the then chiefs of the army and the ISI had submitted their affidavits to the Supreme Court.

Earlier, Geo News anchor Hamid Mir had already reported on Saturday that nothing came out of an investigation into the allegations narrated in the letter.