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World-renowned philosopher, linguist, political analyst and cognitive scientist Professor Noam Chomsky has said that that using the “threat letter” as evidence of a “US-backed coup” against former Prime Minister Imran Khan was meaningless.
When asked by a blogger what he thought about the cable from the former ambassador to the US Asad Majeed as evidence, Chomsky said that he did not regard that as “substantial evidence“.
“By that logic, there are regime changes being planned constantly all over the world. Meaningless,” Chomsky responded.
‘Lettergate’
Shortly before his impending ouster from the government, former prime minister Imran Khan waved a ‘secret letter’ at a public rally in Islamabad on March 27, claiming that there was an international conspiracy to topple his government.
Read more: NSC findings vindicate stance on ‘threat letter’: PTI
He termed the no-confidence motion against him a “huge foreign conspiracy against Pakistan” and soon after revealed that the US had sent the ‘threatening letter’, despite earlier claims that he could not reveal the interfering country’s name as the results would be detrimental for Pakistan.
Imran had said that the letter stated that Pakistan would face serious consequences if the no-confidence motion failed, adding that the language of the letter was extremely harsh and that the no-trust motion had been mentioned in it several times.
However, on Friday, the National Security Committee (NSC) concluded that no evidence of “foreign conspiracy” to topple Imran Khan’s government has been found, but at the same time it endorsed the decisions taken in its previous meeting.
The meeting of the NSC – which was chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif – concluded that based on the input of security agencies as well as former Pakistan ambassador to the US, no evidence of a foreign conspiracy had been found.
Also read: US ‘welcomes’ NSC statement rejecting ‘foreign conspiracy’ allegation
A statement issued by the PM Office said the NSC discussed a telegram received from Pakistan Embassy in Washington. The former Pakistan envoy to the US briefed the committee on the context and content of his telegram. The NSC, after examining the content of the communication, reaffirmed the decisions of its previous meeting.
The NSC was again informed by the premier security agencies that they had found no evidence of any conspiracy. “Therefore, the NSC after reviewing the contents of the communication, the assessments received, and the conclusions presented by the security agencies, concludes that there has been no foreign conspiracy.”
According to sources, the military leadership had already informed the then prime minister on March 31 that there was no evidence of foreign conspiracy. But the military’s input was not made part of the statement – for reasons best known to the then government.
US welcomes NSC statement
The United States had also welcomed the statement issued by the NSC that rejected the former premier’s claim.
Read: Purported ‘threatening letter’ being shared with key officials
Remarks came during a press briefing by US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Jalina Porter after a journalist asked how she viewed the NSC’s conclusion.
“The newly elected prime minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, chaired the meeting of [the] National Security Committee and senior military and civil officers attended that,” the journalist said.
Welcoming the NSC’s statement, Porter maintained that the US had said “all along” that there was “absolutely no truth to those rumours”.
“I would also like to underscore that the United States values our longstanding cooperation with Pakistan and has always viewed a strong, prosperous and democratic Pakistan as critical to US interests,” the senior official further said.