Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that he has credible information that his life is in danger but asserted that he is not afraid and will continue his fight for an independent and democratic Pakistan.
In an interview with ARY News ahead of Sunday's no-confidence motion in the National Assembly against him, Khan also revealed that the “establishment” (the Pakistani military) gave him three options - no-confidence vote, early elections or resignation as the Prime Minister.
"I said early election is the best option… I could never think of resigning… and for no-trust motion, I believe that I will fight till the last minute,” he said.
The powerful Pakistan Army, which has ruled the coup-prone country for more than half of its 73 plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in the matters of security and foreign policy.
Khan said not only his life was in danger but the Opposition, which is playing in foreign hands, will also resort to his character assassination.
“Let me inform my nation that my life is at risk too, they have also planned for my character assassination. Not only myself but my wife too,” the 69-year-old cricketer-turned-politician said.
Answering a question about what options the Opposition gave him, Khan said that he does not think he should talk to people like Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif.
“If we survive (the no-confidence vote), we cannot of course work with these turncoats (who left PTI to join the Opposition), early elections are the best option, I will urge my nation to give me a simple majority so that I won’t have to do compromises,” he said.
Terming the Opposition’s no-confidence motion a conspiracy, Khan said he knew about it since August last year and he had reports that some Opposition leaders were visiting embassies.
"This game started in August [last year]… I received reports about people frequently visiting London from here [Pakistan]… and [also received] reports from agencies,” said the premier.
He alleged that former premier Nawaz Sharif, who has been living in London since 2019 for medical treatment, was plotting against his government.
“He [Nawaz] was frequently holding meetings with individuals who are against the military and held last meeting with Hussain Haqqani on March 3,” Khan claimed.
Haqqani was ambassador of Pakistan in Washington between 2008 and 2011 and was forced to retire as the establishment was not happy with him.
The prime minister also termed the opposition parties, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), as a “disgrace" to the country and said it was due their policies in the past that a foreign power was openly calling for regime change in Pakistan.
“This is an alarming situation. Why on earth have we stooped so low that foreign countries are openly threatening us?” he asked.
Khan reiterated what he said in a televised address to the nation on March 31 that a foreign country not only expressed disapproval over his premiership but also demanded that he be ousted through a no-confidence vote so that Pakistan be “forgiven”.
He said that the foreign country objected to his independent foreign policy, ARY News reported.
Khan said the “threat memo” did not only demand a regime change but clearly mentioned that he should be removed as the prime minister.
When asked about reports that he was thinking of firing the army chief, Khan rejected it by saying that it was a “propaganda spread by PML-N”.
“I can never think of doing anything which is detrimental to our armed forces… our country needs a strong military,” he said.
Earlier, Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Friday claimed that a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Khan has been reported by the country's security agencies, ahead of Sunday's no-trust motion against the premier. (With PTI inputs)
