Several media outlets reported that Lieutenant General Tariq Khan (retd) has refused to lead the government’s commission investigating the “foreign conspiracy” to depose Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Lt Gen (retd) Khan took to Twitter to inform the government of his decision.
Fawad Chaudhry, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, had announced earlier in the day that the government had decided to present the contents of the threat letter to the National Assembly tomorrow, as well as forming a commission to investigate the alleged conspiracy.
He said the commission, led by Lt Gen (retd) Tariq Khan, would look into all of the “characters” involved in the no-trust move and expose them in front of the nation. “It will check to see if the communique exists and if it contains threats of regime change.”
The minister of information also stated that the commission would review the aforementioned points in 90 days and form its own investigative teams.
Who is Tariq Khan, and where did he come from?
Lt Gen Tariq Khan is a retired Pakistani Army officer who served as the Commander of the I Strike Corps in Mangla. From September 2008 to October 2010, he worked as the Inspector General of the Frontier Corps. From 2006 to 2007, he was the commander of the 1st Armoured Division in Multan, and then the 14th Infantry Division in South Waziristan until 2008.
In 2009, Khan rose to prominence after leading the Frontier Corps to victory in the Battle of Bajaur against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He has also spoken out against the threat letter and called Prime Minister Imran Khan’s no-confidence motion a foreign plot.
Several political analysts have expressed their displeasure with Tariq Khan’s appointment, describing it as a government strategy. Experts demanded that the investigation commission be led by a neutral figure.
The future of the Prime Minister is up for grabs. Saturday
According to the Supreme Court’s order, the National Assembly will convene at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday) to vote on the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The voting on the no-confidence motion is listed as the fourth item on the six-point agenda released by the National Assembly (NA) on Friday.
Despite the fact that the premier’s coalition lost its majority in the national assembly last week, he was spared dismissal when the deputy speaker blocked a no-confidence motion against him and the president dissolved parliament and ordered new elections.
When the deputy speaker a member of the PTI refused to allow the no-confidence motion, the premier claimed the Opposition had collaborated with the US for “regime change.”
At the same time, Khan requested that the assembly be dissolved by President Arif Alvi, a PTI supporter. Opposition supporters in the capital greeted the decision, which the court said was unanimous, with joy.
When Khan was elected in 2018 on a promise to end decades of endemic corruption and cronyism, there were high expectations, but soaring inflation, a weak rupee, and crippling debt made it difficult for him to maintain support.
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