ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Security Committee (NSC) agreed on Thursday that the nation whose official transmitted the “threat” would get a harsh demarche.
“The Committee determined that Pakistan would submit a strong demarche to the nation in question via appropriate channels in accordance with diplomatic standards, both in Islamabad and in the country’s capital,” the PM Office said in a statement.
National Security Adviser Dr. Moeed Yusuf addressed the committee on the formal communication of a senior official of a foreign nation to Pakistan’s ambassador in the said country in a formal meeting, which was held at the PM Office with PM Imran Khan in the chair.
According to the statement, the Pakistani ambassador “duly transmitted” the foreign official’s message to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to the statement, the meeting was attended by federal ministers of defense, energy, information and broadcasting, interior, finance, human rights, planning, development, and special initiatives, as well as the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Services Chiefs, NSA, and senior officers.
The NSC voiced great worry over the contact, describing the foreign official’s tone as “undiplomatic.”
The committee came to the conclusion that the message amounted to the nation in question interfering in Pakistan’s domestic affairs, which was unacceptable under any circumstances.
The participants also backed the federal cabinet’s decision made a day earlier in a special cabinet meeting chaired by the prime minister to take the parliament into confidence via an in-camera briefing of the Parliament’s National Security Committee.
The prime minister stated that “foreign forces” are participating in the efforts to destabilize his administration in a speech at a PTI rally on March 27. He also added that “some of our own individuals” are being exploited for this.
Controversy over the ‘threat letter’
The premier had discussed the “threat letter” with cabinet members in an emergency meeting the day before. PTI’s two main partners, the MQM-P and the Balochistan Awami Party, did not attend the conference (BAP).
Meanwhile, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry called a group of journalists to see Prime Minister Imran Khan, where they were given a summary of the letter.
According to reports, the premier said that the document he flashed on March 27 at a PTI rally was written by a Pakistani diplomat stationed abroad and described it as “threatening.”
According to reports, the premier stated the ambassador delivered the letter to Pakistan after meeting with a foreign official while dealing with the media.
The letter was shared with the military leadership, according to Prime Minister Imran Khan, who also said that the tone employed in the communication was “threatening.”
The prime minister said the document will be presented with legislators in a closed session, but that the identity of the country that “threatened” Pakistan could not be revealed due to national security concerns.
Meanwhile, Speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser turned to Twitter to say that if both the government and the opposition agree, the matter of the “sensitive letter” may be reviewed in private at a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security.
If the Parliamentry leaders from Government and Opposition side agree, the issue of the sensitive letter can be discussed at in camera meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security.
— Asad Qaiser (@AsadQaiserPTI) March 30, 2022