Imran Khan News Updates: Pakistan PM’s Address to Nation Cancelled; Resignation May Come Directly Now, Say Sources

Pakistan’s embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday shared some details from what he called a “foreign conspiracy letter” with senior journalists and cabinet members, asserting that the document was authentic. Khan waved a purported letter at a public rally on March 27 declared that a foreign conspiracy was afoot to remove him from power, touting the Opposition’s no-confidence move against him as a testimony of foreign funded move to topple his government. Several Opposition leaders had asked Khan to divulge the details of the letter while denouncing it as an effort to divert pressure and hold on to power. Khan first took the cabinet in confidence on the letter when Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi briefed the participants about it. It was followed by a meeting of the premier with a group of journalists who were also briefed about it. ARY News channel said that the letter was based on the minutes of a meeting of a Pakistan embassy official with officials of the host country.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has cancelled his address to the nation. According to sources, his resignation may come directly now.

Pakistan PM Imran Khan will play till his last ball and won’t resign, said Neelam Irshad Sheikh, spokesperson of the ruling party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), in an exclusive conversation with CNN-News18. The comments come on a day when Khan is likely to resign after his address to the nation. “PM Imran Khan is not stepping down. He is an elected prime minister. He’ll play till his last ball,” Sheikh said, adding that Pakistani Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa and ISI chief Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum have reached the PM’s house to meet Khan ahead of his address later today. Read More

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is likely to resign today after his address to the nation, according to sources. Khan has also threatened to show the “letter” that purportedly contains evidence of foreign conspiracy against his government to the media and his allies, reports have said. Read More

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s future looked increasingly in doubt Wednesday after a key coalition partner switched allegiance ahead of a parliamentary no-confidence vote this weekend. The cricket-star-turned premier was expected to address the nation in the evening, as weeks of political turmoil come to a head — including allegations of foreign interference. No prime minister in the country’s history has seen out a full term, and Khan is facing the biggest challenge to his rule since being elected in 2018, with opponents accusing him of economic mismanagement and foreign-policy bungling, reports news agency AFP. “He will fight until the last over and the last ball,” Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told reporters, using a cricket analogy to describe Khan — one of the sport’s all-time international greats before he entered politics.

“We will soon be seeing Shehbaz Sharif as the Prime Minister,” said Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto.

Speaking to CNN-News18, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesperson Neelam Irshad Sheik said, “Prime Minister Imran Khan is not stepping down. He is an elected Prime Minister. He’ll play till his last ball. Army Chief and DG ISI have reached Prime Minister’s House. You’ll see tonight, Imran Khan is going to address the nation. It is being funded by overseas enemy of Pakistan.”

MQM’s Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said, “We are joining hands for Pakistan’s interest.” To this, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shahbaz Sharif said, “This is a historical day for Pakistan.”

The numbers game in the No Confidence Motion (NCM) moved against Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has transcended simple addition and subtraction and is now dependent on various permutations and combinations. Simple math would make the No Confidence Motion a slam dunk for the opposition parties and their supporters on the treasury benches of Pakistan’s National Assembly. But politics, and all the slime, grime and crime that is often associated with it, complicates the math. Reaching the magic number of 172 requires cutting deals, making Faustian bargains, resiling from agreements, appealing to both base instincts and a higher calling, massaging egos, repairing broken relations and breaking some relations. In short, ‘saam, daam, dand, bhed’ all come into play, as indeed they are in Pakistan. Read More

Pakistan’s embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday summoned a special session of the federal cabinet amidst reports that two ministers belonging to the ruling coalition partner MQM-P have resigned after their party announced that it will support Opposition’s no-confidence motion. State-run Radio Pakistan reported that on a special invitation, heads of the allied parties will also attend the special session of the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Khan. Sources said that the latest political situation would be discussed with the objective to win back the lawmakers belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) with seven and five members in the lower house, respectively. The cabinet members and those invited to attend the special session would also be taken into confidence about the threatening document letter that the premier said was proof of a “foreign conspiracy” to topple his government.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said that he will meet members of the Pakistan national assembly and senior journalists. He is also expected to make the letter which he claims contains proof that foreign powers are lobbying to overthrow his government in Islamabad. His cabinet minister said that he will also address the people of Pakistan later in the evening, according to interior minister Sheikh Rasheed. Read More

“Prime Minister Imran Khan is a player who fights till the last ball. He will not resign,” said Pakistan’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Hussain.

In the face of massive crisis, Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid accused former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of taking bribe from Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi and Osama bin Lade. “Nawaz Sharif is a product of GHQ gate number four, Nawaz Sharif took money from Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi and Osama bin Laden,” he said.

Imran Khan: A political crisis is not new for democracies. No confidence vote is a foreign imported crisis. Pakistan is getting controlled on an international call against our national interest. Outsiders are not happy with Pakistan doing well under our government. This is a conspiracy. I have a document and i will share with senior journalists. I will share this document today with top Pakistan journalists and it will expose the international conspiracy against me.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), a key partner in the PTI-led ruling coalition, has pledged support for the no-confidence motion against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who now risks losing the majority support in the National Assembly, Samaa TV reported.

Leaders from the opposition parties and MQM-P drafted an agreement at the Parliament Lodges after midnight.

MQM-P Senator Faisal Subzwari confirmed, first in a tweet and then in an interaction with reporters, that a draft agreement had been finalized and the details will be announced at a press conference.

Subzwari said that the draft agreement would be made public after being ratified by PPP’s Central Executive Committee and MQM-P’s coordination committee.

Senior PML-Q leader Kamil Ali Agha on Friday said that “it’s too late” for Prime Minister Imran Khan. Speaking to Geo TV news, Agha said, “Rather than countering no trust move government is playing Jalsa Jalsa, although parliament has to decide the fate of no-trust motion. It’s too late for the prime minister to cajole allies as the decision might have been taken by them.

Senior PML-Q leader Kamil Ali Agha on Friday said that “it’s too late” for Prime Minister Imran Khan. Speaking to Geo TV news, Agha said, “Rather than countering no trust move government is playing Jalsa Jalsa, although parliament has to decide the fate of no-trust motion. It’s too late for the prime minister to cajole allies as the decision might have been taken by them.