Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Jan has called on the country’s president, Arif Alvi, to «act now» to stop the «abuse of power» and denounced «a plot to assassinate him» allegedly hatched by the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, days after he survived a shooting.
Jan has indicated in a letter to the president that since he was removed from power in a no-confidence motion in April «the nation has begun to rise up» to his call for nationwide demonstrations to demand early elections.
«The interior minister (Rana Sanaullah) has repeatedly issued death threats against me and I was informed of a plot to assassinate me that would have been prepared by the prime minister, the interior minister and the head of the intelligence services,» he said.
He asked Alvi to «take note of a series of mistakes that undermine Pakistan’s national security» and «order an investigation under his leadership to identify the culprits and hold them accountable,» the Pakistani daily ‘The Tribune’ reported.
Jan has thus denounced «a violation of the Official Secrets Act» following the «leak» of a conversation he had with Sharif and senior Army officers and a «direct threat of regime change» by a U.S. officer.
In this regard, he has argued that the National Security Council held a meeting on this matter when he was prime minister and «clearly decided that it was an unacceptable interference in internal affairs, following which it was decided that a complaint be filed by the Foreign Ministry to the US envoy in Islamabad.»
However, he regretted that on October 27 a press conference was held in which it was assured that the aforementioned message from Washington did not involve interference and wondered how one can «publicly contradict a decision of the National Security Council».
Therefore, he argued that «the parameters of a military information organization such as the Intelligence services must be clearly defined and limited to information related to defense and military affairs» and called on Alvi to «draw a clear operational line» for this body.
The former prime minister further called on the Pakistani president to «protect democracy and the constitution» and stressed that «no person or institution can be above the law», before pointing to «massive abuses of citizens at the hands of rogue elements in state organizations, including torture and abductions».
«You represent the highest office in the state and I call on you to act now to stop the abuse of power and violations of our laws and the Constitution, which guarantee the fundamental rights of all citizens,» Jan has remonstrated in his missive to Alvi.
SUPREME COURT DECISION On the other hand, the Supreme Court has ordered on Monday the Inspector General of Police of the Punjab region, Faisal Shahkar, to register an initial report on the assassination attempt against Jan and Wazirabad, which resulted in one dead and seven wounded, among them several senior officials of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party, including the former prime minister, as reported by the Pakistani television channel Geo TV.
In response, Fauad Chaudhri, a senior PTI official, said on his official Twitter account that the court’s decision was «the first step towards justice» following the assassination attempt. The person responsible for the shooting is in custody.
Jan himself announced on Sunday that the «long march» to the capital, Islamabad, will resume this Tuesday from the same point where he was shot on Thursday, amid his pulse with Sharif for the call of early elections.
Jan accused the government and an army general of involvement in the assassination attempt. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday called for a judicial commission of inquiry to be set up.
The former prime minister, who in April became the first Pakistani leader to be ousted in a no-confidence motion, was disqualified at the end of October by the election commission for failing to declare money from the sale of gifts and presents received from international leaders when he was in charge of the government.
His departure from office was followed by a growing political tension marked by scandals of transfuguism and massive protests in favor and against the Prime Minister, denounced by the opposition alliance of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) as a «puppet» of the Army. The Armed Forces are considered to be the most powerful force in Pakistan since its independence from the British Raj in 1947.
