Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday urged Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Bajwa and Director General ISI Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum to present evidence of any alleged treason committed by the joint opposition.
National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri had on Sunday dismissed the opposition's no-trust move against the now interim Prime Minister Imran Khan without voting after linking it with a "foreign conspiracy" — which government claims first came to light in a 'threat letter' by a US official — and terming it against Article 5 of the Constitution.
Days before the NA session, the National Security Committee (NSC), which is the top civil-military forum, had also expressed “grave concern” over US meddling in Pakistan’s internal affairs and decided to lodge a strong protest.
Addressing the media in Islamabad today, Shehbaz said that the deputy speaker's ruling had declared 197 members of the Parliament "traitors" as he directly asked the country's top military officials to provide proof, if any, of the opposition's complicity in the alleged foreign conspiracy.
"Today, I want General Bajwa and the DG ISI to clarify ... Bring evidence if we have committed treason and show it to the public so that everything becomes crystal clear," the PML-N leader said, adding that they would put this demand in front of the Supreme Court as well.
Shehbaz added that the opposition had been calling out PM Imran from the day he came to power. "We have been protesting against him for more than three years now. But the day we decided to take a constitutional path [to oust him], we were called traitors."
He demanded that the establishment should clarify today if they had "signed the minutes of the National Security Committee meeting which said that the opposition has played a role in the foreign conspiracy".
"Did the establishment approve them? Were they vetted? These are the answers the nation wants to know today."
Responding to the PML-N president's demand, PTI spokesperson Shahbaz Gill said it was a usual practice of the party to "drag institutions into politics".
He claimed that the reason behind the PML-N not attending the NSC meeting was being involved with the foreign elements behind the alleged conspiracy.
Meanwhile, Shehbaz claimed that he hadn't received "any letter" from President Dr Arif Alvi regarding the proposal of names for the appointment of caretaker prime minister.
"As I speak, I have not received officially any letter from President Alvi," he said.
Yesterday, the President's Secretariat shared copies of letters written to interim Prime Minister Imran Khan and Shehbaz Sharif, asking them to propose names for the post of caretaker prime minister.
The development came a day after the National Assembly deputy speaker disallowed a no-trust confidence motion against the premier and the president dissolved the lower house of Parliament on the premier's advice.
"Caretaker prime minister shall be appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition in the outgoing NA as per Article 224-A(1) of the Constitution of Pakistan," the president's letter, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, stated.
In his media talk today, Shehbaz said that whenever he got the letter, he would first consult with his legal team and opposition partners, and then send names for the interim prime minister.
"But Arif Alvi and Imran Khan Niazi have violated and trampled the constitution. A decision on this matter should first be taken. Rest of the things will be seen later," he added.
