ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The newly arrived Shahbaz Sharif regime may temper the alleged threat letter or lure the Pakistan’s former Ambassador to the US Asad Majeed Khan to cover up the issue, sources have cautioned.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in his maiden speech after being elected as the Leader of the House in the National Assembly announced to arrange at the earliest an in-camera briefing for Parliamentary Committee on Security on the matter of a letter received by the last government from Ambassador Asad Majeed about an alleged foreign conspiracy for regime change.
Shahbaz Sharif said that the Services Chiefs, the Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the Foreign Secretary and the ambassador concerned will be invited to the briefing.
Sources said that a covert plan is already under work by the new regime and even they may offer the post of the Foreign Secretary to Ambassador Asad Majeed to seek his favour.
However, sources said that the Federal Cabinet of Imran Khan in his last meeting decided to declassify the letter and it was shared with the Speaker and Deputy of the National Assembly, the Chairman Senate, Services Chiefs and the Chief Justice of Pakistan. Besides, the content of the threat letter have already been read out to a senior journalists.
It’s worth mentioning that Pakistan has already lodged a strong demarche with the top US diplomat in Islamabad as well as in Washington as per the decision taken in the National Security Committee (NSC) held on March 31 to take stock of the letter.
In its meeting presided over the former Prime Minister Imran Khan and attended by Services Chiefs and DG ISI, the Pakistan’s top civil and military leadership expressed grave concern at the communication, terming the language used by the foreign official as undiplomatic.
The NSC noted that it was a blatant interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan, and was unacceptable under any circumstances.
Last month, the previous government also invited the leaders of the joint opposition, which are now in the government, for an in-camera briefing for Parliamentary Committee on Security on the letter but they declined to attend the meeting.
Again on April 9, the former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the floor of the House asked the opposition benches for an in-camera briefing on the threat letter but the latter demonstrated extreme reluctance.
The new Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in his maiden address also mentioned that he hadn’t been shared the threat letter yet but the fact is that prior to tendering his resignation as the Speaker National Assembly on April 9, Asad Qaiser asked all parliamentary leaders of the opposition parties to visit his Chamber if any of them wanted to see the threat letter but again none of them responded positively.
Sources said that now when the opposition parties have seized the treasury benches with Shahbaz Sharif as the Chief Executive of the State and all PTI lawmakers have resigned from the National Assembly, the ruling regime may play political gimmicks or easily manipulate the situation surrounding the threat letter in their favour.
