ISLAMABAD: Newly-appointed Law Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Friday ordered to set up a commission to investigate the ‘foreign conspiracy’ behind ousting Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The Cabinet Division in Islamabad has also issued a notification confirming the minister’s additional designation.
According to Fawad, the commission would investigate external factors relating to the no-confidence motion tabled in the National Assembly. The minister also ordered the reshuffling of dozens of legal officers in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore.
The news also comes after the premier, during an 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 motion.
In an apparent slip of the tongue, the prime minister 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.
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.
On April 31, the United States State Department spokesman said that they are “closely” monitoring the situation in Pakistan and supported the country’s constitutional process, responding to a question about PM Imran’s statements.
“We are closely following developments in Pakistan, and we respect (and) we support Pakistan’s constitutional process and the rule of law,” spokesman Ned Price said in reply to a question at his daily press briefing. “But,” he added, “When it comes to those allegations, there is no truth to them.”
Appointment as law minister
Fawad Chaudhry’s appointment as law minister comes three days after the resignation of Barrister Farogh Naseem as the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) formally parted ways with the ruling party to join the opposition.
Alongside Farogh Naseem, MQM-P leader Aminul Haque also resigned from his post of Minister for Information Technology. The lawmakers had sent their resignation letters to Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The MQM-P had earlier announced backing the opposition parties’ no-confidence motion against the premier in the National Assembly.
