Pakistan government forms commission to probe alleged ‘foreign conspiracy’

Islamabad: Pakistan government on Friday decided to establish a commission to probe the alleged “foreign conspiracy” to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan from office.

Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that the government had decided to present the contents of the document which contains “evidence of a foreign conspiracy” against the country’s elected prime minister ahead of the voting on the no-confidence motion on April 9.

“The commission would also expose the local handlers who were used to take forward this foreign conspiracy,” the minister said.

Prime Minister Imran Khan his supporters on Friday that they would have to guard the country’s sovereignty and stand up to the alleged “regime change” attempts by foreign powers.

Khan, who faces a likely exit through the no-confidence vote, has announced to fight back. “My message to our nation is I have always and will continue to fight for Pakistan till the last ball,” he said on Twitter after the country’s top court ruled against his actions and restored the parliament.

On April 7, Pakistan’s Supreme Court in a 5-0 verdict annulled all actions that were taken by Khan’s government and ruled that the deputy speaker’s blocking of the no-trust vote was “unconstitutional,” restored the parliament and ordered the National Assembly to summon a session on April to hold the voting on a no-confidence motion against the prime minister. Khan has lost his parliamentary majority after over a dozen lawmakers from his party and coalition partners defected to the opposition.

Opposition leaders hailed the court’s verdict and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif described it as a “victory for justice.” Meanwhile, the members of the government denounced the decision and Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said the court’s ruling was akin to a “judicial coup” that ended “parliamentary supremacy.”

If Khan loses the no-confidence vote, the opposition leader and younger brother of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, is expected to be appointed prime minister.