Plot to assassinate Pakistan PM Imran reported, security beefed up

Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Friday that a plot to assassinate the country's Prime Minister Imran Khan had been reported by security agencies, reports Dawn.

"After these reports, the prime minister's security has been beefed up as per the government's decision," he said.

Earlier this week, PTI leader Faisal Vawda had made similar claims, stating that a conspiracy was being hatched to assassinate the prime minister over his refusal to "sell the country".

Vawda had made the remarks on ARY News show "Off the Record" in response to a question about a letter PM Imran brandished at the PTI's 27 March power show in Islamabad, claiming it contained "evidence" of a "foreign conspiracy" to topple his government.

Vawda said there was a threat to the prime minister's life but remained evasive when asked whether the purported conspiracy to assassinate the premier was mentioned in the letter.

He also said that the prime minister was told multiple times that bulletproof glass needed to be installed before his dais at the 27 March rally. "But as always and as usual, he said my [death] will come when Allah wills. Don't worry about it," Vawda quoted him as saying.

The news also comes a day after the premier, during a nearly hour-long live address to the nation, vowed to foil "an international conspiracy" hatched against his government by opposition leaders and their alleged handlers ahead of the no-confidence vote in the National Assembly.

In an apparent slip of the tongue, he had revealed the name of the United States as the country behind the "threat letter". However, reacting to the prime minister's address, opposition parties had declared him to be a "security threat".

On Wednesday, the premier had shared the letter with his cabinet members in a hurriedly called meeting, which was not attended by PTI's two major allies — Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) — despite being invited. It has been learnt that the letter was shown to the cabinet members on a TV screen.

PM Imran had also called a selected group of TV anchors and informed them that "the language of the letter was threatening and arrogant" and that Pakistan would face dire consequences if the no-confidence motion failed.

However, the premier did not show the letter to the media.

This rush to share the document with the cabinet and some journalists came after it became clear that the prime minister had lost his majority in the National Assembly following the MQM-P's decision to support the joint opposition in the no-trust resolution against the prime minister.

'Absolutely no truth to allegation', US refutes Imran's claim

The White House on Friday categorically rejected allegations by Prime Minister Imran Khan that the United States is involved in a 'conspiracy' to oust him from power with an official saying there is "absolutely no truth" to the claim, reports The Express Tribune.

During a press briefing, White House Director of Communications Kate Bedingfield was asked about Washington's response to the premier's accusation of "the US working with the opposition to remove him from power".

"There is absolutely no truth to that allegation," she responded.

Yesterday, PM Imran said he was paying the price in the shape of a "foreign conspiracy hatched by the United States" to topple the incumbent government through the opposition's no-confidence motion for pursuing an "independent foreign policy".

In an address to the nation, he stated that on 7 March the government received a message from a foreign country through Pakistan's ambassador there, which said that they would pardon Pakistan's all misgivings if Imran Khan was ousted. If happened otherwise, Pakistan would have to face difficulties.

 "This (message) is against the nation," he said, adding that the message coming before the vote of confidence showed that the political opponents were in contact with that country."

He added that the opposition leaders, who were now beloved by the said foreign country, never condemned 400 drone attacks by the United States during their tenures killing innocent people.

Pakistan late on Thursday night lodged a formal protest with the US over a threatening letter that warned of dire consequences if the opposition's no-confidence motion against PM Imran failed.

The acting US envoy in Islamabad was summoned to the Foreign Ministry over the "threatening" letter, hours after the country's top decision-making body on national security voiced concerns over the issue during a meeting chaired by the premier.