Adamant Imran Khan says will play till the last ball

New Delhi, March 31

A defiant Imran Khan on Thursday indicated that he would not resign as Pakistan PM despite losing majority in the National Assembly. He said he would play till the last ball and the no-trust vote on Sunday would decide in which direction the country was headed.

• Editorial: Imran cornered

In a live address to the nation, 69-year-old Khan discussed a ‘threat letter’ that purportedly showed “evidence” of a foreign conspiracy to topple his coalition government. He named the US as the country behind the threat in what appeared to be a slip of the tongue.

“…Our policy was not anti-US, anti-Europe, or even India … it became anti-India after New Delhi revoked Kashmir’s special status and broke international law in August 2019,” he said. “…The letter stated that the no-confidence motion was being tabled even before it was filed, which means the Opposition was in contact with them,” he alleged, adding the letter was against him and not the government. Khan said it was an “official letter” that was communicated to Pakistan’s ambassador.

“What is most disturbing is that our people, who are sitting here, are in contact with foreign powers,” he said, as he referred to the “three stooges” – Pakistan Muslim League (N) president Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

Islamabad was rife with reports of backroom deal-making under which the joint Opposition would withdraw the no-trust motion against Khan and, in return, he would dissolve the Assembly and seek fresh elections. —