Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday, ahead of a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly, said he has credible information that his “life is in danger”, local media reported.
He said not only his life was in danger but the Opposition, which is playing in foreign hands, will also resort to his character assassination, Khan said in an interview with ARY News.
“Let me inform my nation that my life is at risk too, they have also planned for my character assassination. Not only myself but my wife too,” Khan said.
As Khan battles to save his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, he said that the “establishment” gave him three options, including the no-confidence motion, resignation from his post, or fresh elections, ARY News reported.
Answering a question about what options the Opposition gave him, the Pakistan Prime Minister said that he does not think he should talk to people like Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif.
“If we survive (the no-confidence vote), we cannot of course work with these turncoats (who left PTI to join opposition), early elections are the best option, I will urge my nation to give me simple majority so that I won’t have to do compromises,” he said.
Terming the Opposition’s no-confidence motion a conspiracy, Khan said he knew about it since August last year and he had reports that some Opposition leaders were visiting embassies, ARY News reported.
“People like Husain Haqqani were meeting Nawaz Sharif in London,” he said.Khan reiterated what he said in a televised address to the nation on March 31 that a foreign country not only expressed disapproval over his premiership and demanded that he be ousted through no-confidence vote so that Pakistan be “forgiven”.
He stated that the foreign country objected upon his independent foreign policy.
Khan further said the “threat memo” did not only demand a regime change but clearly mentioned that he should be removed as the prime minister.
Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Faisal Vawda had also claimed that Imran Khan’s life is in danger as a conspiracy has been hatched to assassinate him.
In Pakistan’s National Assembly, the no-trust vote against the Imran Khan government was deferred to April 3. The proceedings of the National Assembly were adjourned till April 3 soon after it met on Thursday to discuss the no-confidence motion.
Imran Khan received a massive blow when the PTI “lost the majority” in the National Assembly after losing its key ally in the coalition Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P). The MQM announced that it had struck a deal with the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and would support the no-trust vote in the 342-member National Assembly.
The no-confidence motion was submitted by the Opposition parties on March 8 after the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) long march in Islamabad. The Opposition has been confident that its motion would be carried as many PTI lawmakers have come out in the open against PM Imran Khan.
Imran Khan is the third Prime Minister to face the no-confidence motion in Pakistan.