Says I respect the Supreme Court verdict; reiterates his stance to expose turncoats; resolves to take the lettergate issue to the streets

Special Correspondent

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday addressed the nation and said that while he respected the decision of the Supreme Court regarding the restoration of the National Assembly, he is saddened by the verdict.

Recalling the time when he was arrested, the premier said that he strongly believes that the judiciary is the guardian of justice in the country. 

The premier said that while he respected the country’s judiciary, he complained that the Supreme Court should have at least initiated the probe on the “foreign conspiracy” matter.

“I respect the Supreme Court and the judiciary, but the apex court should have looked at the threat letter before issuing the verdict,” he said. 

PM Imran Khan further complained that the apex court did not take the matter of the “threat letter” as seriously as it should have been taken.

PM Imran Khan further said that the decision on Article 63 (A), regarding horse-trading, also added to his disappointment.

“The youth of Pakistan is our future and if they see leaders selling their conscience, what precedent are we setting for them?” he asked, adding that even MNAs who came on reserved seats have become sellouts.

He said that nations must stand against wrong, otherwise, nobody can protect them if they don’t raise their voices against the corruption and other evils prevalent in the country.

Speaking about the “threat letter”, he explained what a cipher is — a coded message sent by embassies to their country — adding that this message cannot be shared with the media and public because if these codes are unveiled, all secret information of Pakistan will be unveiled.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court of Pakistan restored the National Assembly after it declared the government’s decision to dissolve the assembly and NA Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri’s ruling against the Constitution.

The top court has ordered National Assembly Speaker Asad Qasier to summon the session on Saturday (April 9) and not later than 10:30am to allow the vote on the no-confidence motion against the premier.

Earlier in the day, PM Imran Khan chaired a cabinet meeting, following which Minister for Information and Law Fawad Chaudhry said a commission will be formed that would probe the “threat letter”. 

The commission would present its report within 90 days after it investigates how many dissident MPs were in contact with foreign powers.

“We have evidence of eight dissident MPAs being in contact with foreign dignitaries,” Fawad said, adding: “The commission will look at a connection between local handlers and regime change.”

He said that the parliamentarians would be briefed regarding the details of the threat letter before the voting on the no-confidence motion.