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 said the “establishment” (the powerful military) gave him three options - no-confidence vote, early elections or resignation as the prime minister.
He 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.
“People like Husain Haqqani were meeting Nawaz Sharif in London,” he said.
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 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.
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.
Khan’s security has been beefed up as per the government's decision after these reports, the Dawn newspaper quoted Chaudhry as saying.
His statement came a week after similar claims were made by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Faisal Vawda who had said that a conspiracy was being hatched to assassinate Khan over his refusal to "sell the country".
Vawda had made the remarks on ARY News show over a letter Prime Minister Khan had brandished at the PTI's March 27 show of strength here, claiming that it contained "evidence" of a "foreign conspiracy" to topple his government.
Vawda said that there was a threat to Khan’s life.
He, however, did not reveal if the purported conspiracy to assassinate the premier was mentioned in the letter.
