Pakistani security agencies reported ‘plot to assassinate Imran Khan’

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Friday that a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Imran Khan had been reported by security agencies, reports Pakistan media Dawn and ANN.

"After these reports, the prime minister's security has been beefed up as per the government's decision," he said.

Earlier this week, PTI leader Faisal Vawda had made similar claims, stating that a conspiracy was being hatched to assassinate the prime minister over his refusal to "sell the country".

Vawda had made the remarks on ARY News show "Off the Record" in response to a question about a letter PM Imran brandished at the PTI's March 27 power show in Islamabad, claiming it contained "evidence" of a "foreign conspiracy" to topple his government.

Vawda said there was a threat to the prime minister's life but remained evasive when asked whether the purported conspiracy to assassinate the premier was mentioned in the letter.

He also said that the prime minister was told multiple times that bulletproof glass needed to be installed before his dais at the March 27 rally. "But as always and as usual, he said my

The news also comes a day after the premier, during a nearly hour-long live address to the nation, vowed to foil "an international conspiracy" hatched against his government by opposition leaders and their alleged handlers ahead of the no-confidence vote in the National Assembly.

In an apparent slip of the tongue, he had revealed the name of the United States as the country behind the "threat letter". However, reacting to the prime minister's address, opposition parties had declared him to be a "security threat".

On Wednesday, the premier had shared the letter with his cabinet members in a hurriedly called meeting, which was not attended by PTI's two major allies — Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) — despite being invited. It has been learnt that the letter was shown to the cabinet members on a TV screen.

PM Imran had also called a selected group of TV anchors and informed them that "the language of the letter was threatening and arrogant" and that Pakistan would face dire consequences if the no-confidence motion failed.

However, the premier did not show the letter to the media.

This rush to share the document with the cabinet and some journalists came after it became clear that the prime minister had lost his majority in the National Assembly following the MQM-P's decision to support the joint opposition in the no-trust resolution against the prime minister.

A key ally of the PTI government in the Centre, the MQM-P has seven seats in the NA and after its decision to part ways with the government, the opposition has gathered the support of 177 MNAs, five more than the 172 required to gain a majority.