PM Imran Khan postpones address to nation but not cancelled

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has postponed his address to the nation but not cancelled, whereas, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued an important order regarding the Official Secret Act, 1923.

The premier postponed his address to the nation regarding the threatening letter following the request of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence  (DG-IS) Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum.

In its ruling, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) stated that the prime minister is holding a key position, thus PM Imran Khan should keep the national interests in view of his decision by not making confidential documents and contents of the said letter public.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed had announced on Wednesday that PM Khan will address the nation regarding the threatening letter and the no-confidence motion against him to take the nation in confidence.

Later, the army chief and the top spy met the premier and requested him not to address the nation over the threat letter which was accepted by PM Khan.

Sources said that PM Khan has just postponed his address but not cancelled.

Yesterday, the premier had also shared the contents of the threatening letter with the federal cabinet members in an emergency session.

PM Khan had also given a statement to read the contents of the threat letter during an in-camera session of the Parliament. Sources said that PM Khan will definitely inform the nation about the letter’s content.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah had also conducted an early hearing of a citizen’s plea and issued a written order which stated that the court is confident that the elected premier would not disclose any information or act in breach of Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 nor the oath taken by him under the Constitution.

Any decision taken by the worthy Prime Minister has to be in consonance with his obligations under the Official Secret Act, 1923, and in letter and spirit of the oath of the office, it read.

March 27 address

It may be noted here that PM Khan had made revelations about a threat letter sent to his government after he attempted to adopt an independent foreign policy and after he said ‘absolutely not’ to the US government for military bases in Pakistan.

He had made the revelations in March 27 power show in Islamabad ahead of the NA session on the no-trust move in which he claimed that foreign hands were involved in the attempts to topple the PTI government. He had also criticised the dual standards of the European Union (EU) during his speeches at public gatherings in different parts of the country.

PM Imran Khan had also claimed about some Pakistanis colluding with the foreign powers to topple his government.

Voting on no-trust move

It is also important to mention here that the voting on the no-trust move is likely to be held on April 3 at the National Assembly.

The PTI government and the opposition parties are currently busy seeking the support of the government allies after lining up their members of the National Assembly (MNAs) for the crucial political battle in the Parliament House.

Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) had shown their support to the government, whereas, the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) took the side of the opposition.

The fate of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government is now linked with the decision of its ally party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) on the no-trust move against Prime Minister Imran Khan.