Cornered Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has canceled his address to the country on Wednesday. Republic learned from sources that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PIT) supremo looked nervous and therefore, kept on postponing the address first scheduled for 5 PM to first 6 and then 7 PM before taking the call to cancel it for the day after meeting the Pak Army and ISI chiefs.
The announcement of the cancellation of the address came soon after Khan met the Pakistan army top brass. At his residence, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and DG ISI Nadeem Anjum paid a visit after which, sources further said that the Pakistan Prime Minister was looking at his last resort- to take on Army in an on-camera National Security Committee (NSC) meeting. He may also try to invoke emergency powers, sources added. As per reports in Pakistan media, Imran Khan may also have been asked to resign as PM after having seemingly lost his majority in the National Assembly.
‘Sealed, secret letter’ to be presented in NSC meeting
In the NSC meeting, the ‘sealed, secret letter’ backing his claim of a ‘foreign conspiracy’ to topple the PTI government, is also said to be presented by Imran Khan. The Pakistan Prime Minister has already briefed as many as 14 journalists on the said letter. As per sources, in the letter sent to the country’s foreign ministry, the sender has expressed its dissatisfaction with Pakistan’s policies, including its foreign policy in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Imran Khan’s visit to Russia thereafter.
Imran Khan is pushing the ‘foreign conspiracy’ claim as more and more allies desert PTI ahead of the no-confidence vote on Thursday. On Wednesday, just a day before the vote, Muttahida Qaumi Movement- Pakistan (MQM-P)and Baluchistan National Party (BNP) formally withdrew support from the government. This has reduced the seats of PTI to below the required number to win the no-confidence motion against Khan. As per the latest count, in the 342-member Pakistan assembly, the Imran Khan-led PTI coalition has 165 MNAs while the united opposition has 177, with 172 needed to topple the government.
Opposition seeks Imran Khan’s resignation ahead of no-confidence vote
Meanwhile, the joint opposition addressed a press briefing on Wednesday. During the press briefing, which had in attendance Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N)’s Shahbaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)’s Bilawal Bhutto, and Muttahida Qaumi Movement- Pakistan (MQM-P)’s Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDP)’s Fazal-ur-Rehman, the Opposition in tandem asked Imran Khan to resign as the Prime Minister.
It is pertinent to mention here that on March 8, Pakistan’s main opposition parties filed a no-confidence motion against Khan. The Imran Khan-led government is under fire over the surging inflation, increasing debt, misgovernance, and mishandling of foreign policy which is reflected in the stalling of CPEC projects and US President Joe Biden’s snub. Shehbaz Sharif is the PM face of the united opposition.