Ex-army officer declines to lead ‘lettergate’ probe

Lt-Gen (retd) Tariq Khan recused himself from heading a commission formed by the federal cabinet on Friday to investigate the alleged “foreign conspiracy plot” and dig out the facts about the so-called “threat letter”.

Lt-Gen (retd) Tariq Khan was appointed to determine whether the threat of regime change mentioned in the letter existed or not and find out who were the local elements involved in the conspiracy aimed at regime change in Pakistan.

However, quoting its sources, Express News said on its website that Lt-Gen (retd) Tariq Khan declined to head the commission to investigate the conspiracy claims and the threat letter. The report, however, did not give any reason for his recusal.

The “letter” which was first disclosed by Prime Minister Imran Khan in a public rally in Islamabad on March 27, was at the centre of the recent political turmoil in the country. The government claimed that the letter contained threat to the government from the US.

Also read: Imran Khan seeks Memogate-style probe into ‘Lettergate’

On the basis of the letter and the alleged conspiracy plot, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri dismissed the opposition’s no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran on April 3. The deputy speaker’s ruling was struck down by the Supreme Court on Thursday.

On Friday, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that the cabinet had formed a commission headed by Lt-Gen (retd) Tariq Khan with powers to constitute further investigation teams to determine whether the threat of regime change mentioned in the ‘threat letter’ existed or not.

Sharing the terms of reference (ToRs) of the probe commission, the information minister told a media briefing after the cabinet meeting – chaired by Prime Minister Imran – that the commission would dig out as to who supported the regime-change plot locally.

“The Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Shehbaz Sharif, had contended that there was no such ‘threat letter’ of regime change. Therefore, it is included in the commission's ToRs that it would determine whether this ‘letter’ and the threat of regime change in it existed or not,” Chaudhry said.

The minister told reporters that the commission would also dig out as to who supported the regime change plot locally, Chaudhry said. “Thirdly, it will aim to discover who were the local handlers who took this plan further and where the conspiracy originated from,” he added.

“The commission will also investigate the meetings of foreign officials with the PTI’s [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf] dissident members of the National Assembly (MNAs) ahead of the no-trust motion,” he continued. “The commission has been given 90 days to conclude the investigation,” the minister said.

However, the minister, who also holds the portfolio of the Law Ministry, insisted that the opposition knew everything about the plot, though not all the members in the opposition parties were involved in this conspiracy.

“The contents of the ‘threat letter’ clearly indicate that the no-trust move was not ordinary, rather brought at the whims of foreign powers,” he said, stressing that some “big mafias” were behind the no-confidence motion.

He said the federal cabinet, while reposing full confidence in the leadership of the prime minister, decided to present evidence pertaining to the involvement of foreign powers in the no-confidence motion before all the MNAs on Saturday.

“The original records will be given to the MNAs,” Fawad Chaudhry said. “If the country does not defend its independence, it will return to slavery. An imported, selected government will be imposed and controlled from outside the country, rendering Pakistan unable to make its own decisions.”

Fawad Chaudhry told reporters that not only was the whole nation concerned about the revival of the horse-trading culture in the country but also rejected the current practice of buying conscience of the National Assembly members (MNAs) through money.

As regards the statement of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) about the preparation of fresh election, the minister said that the government would extend all kinds of assistance to the polls supervisor for holding free, fair, and transparent elections in the country.

(WITH INPUT FROM APP)