Web Desk
Pakistan government has decided to form an “independent” inquiry commission to probe the alleged “foreign conspiracy” that former prime minister Imran Khan has been claiming was behind the ouster of his government last month, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Thursday.
” The commission will “fairly decide that the narrative of foreign conspiracy is all drama and the real character behind it is Imran Khan”, she told a press conference in the capital Islamabad.
“These allegations are an attempt to cause irreparable damage to the country,” the information minister said.
Predicting the post-inquiry scenario, Ms.Aurangzeb said anyone who levelled such allegations “will be dealt as per the law” in light of the decision made by the inquiry commission.
She reiterated that the commission would be independent and its probe report would be brought before the public. “This drama should now end,” she added.
The minister said the terms of reference of the inquiry commission would be placed before the federal cabinet for approval in its next meeting.
No one including Imran Khan would be able to raise an objection to the name of the commission’s head, Aurangzeb added.
She accused the PTI chief and former premier of attempting to divert public attention from the alleged corruption of Farah Khan — a close friend of Imran’s wife Bushra Bibi.
The minister criticised Imran, saying the PTI-led government facilitated opening of around 34 bank accounts between 2018 and 2022, most of them in the name of Farah. “Rs 870.4 million were transferred into those accounts during the period.”
She said that the PTI government “sold” Pakistan’s foreign policy and invited the wrath of “friendly countries”.
She said Imran would not accept the inquiry commission but “its findings will be accepted by the parliament and people of Pakistan.”
The controversy surrounding the no-confidence motion against the former premier Imran Khan took a dramatic turn when the embattled PM brandished a letter at a rally on March 27 — days before his ouster — claiming it contained evidence of a “foreign conspiracy” hatched to topple his government, according to English newspaper, Daily Dawn.
Imran had kept mum about the contents of the letter when he first unveiled it but he spilled the beans days later by naming the United States when the exit of his government appeared imminent.
Imran’s allegation that the US spearheaded his exit from power was based on a cable received from Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed, in which the envoy had reported about a meeting with Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Donald Lu.
Majeed, as former PM Imran Khan says, had said that Donald Lu warned that Imran Khan’s continuation in office, who was set to face a vote of no confidence, would have repercussions on bilateral relations. The US was said to be annoyed with Imran over his “independent foreign policy” and visit to Moscow.
The Pentagon and the State Department have repeatedly rejected the accusations, saying there was no veracity to it.
