Islamabad: Pakistan’s top security body, National Security Committee (NSC), decided on Thursday to issue a “strong demarche” over the ‘threatening letter’ described by the prime minister as evidence of a foreign conspiracy to oust the current government.
The Committee expressed “grave concern at the communication, terming the language used by the foreign official as undiplomatic” and said that the “communication amounted to blatant interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan by the country in question, which was unacceptable under any circumstances.”
The participants decided that “Pakistan will issue a strong demarche to the country in question both in Islamabad and in the country’s capital through proper channel in keeping with diplomatic norms.”
Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired the NSC meeting which was attended by top military leadership including the chairman joint chiefs of staff committee, services chiefs, NSA and federal ministers of defence, energy, information, interior, finance, human rights, planning and development.
Pakistan’s National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf briefed the committee on the formal communication of a senior foreign official to Pakistan’s Ambassador in the said country in a formal meeting which was conveyed by the Ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The committee did not specify which country or personality had written the letter but diplomatic sources confirmed that it came from the United States. The US State Department has said no US government agency or official had sent a letter commenting on the political situation in Pakistan, local media reported.
NSC also endorsed the cabinet’s decision to take the parliament into confidence on the issue through an in-camera briefing.
No-trust vote session adjourned
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the crucial National Assembly session to debate the no-confidence resolution against Prime Minister Imran Khan, which resumed after a three-day recess on Thursday, was again adjourned. “The sitting of the Nation Assembly has been adjourned to meet again on Sunday the 3rd April 2022 at 11:30 am,” the National Assembly statement said.
