PM’s surprise and conspiracy theories

"Despite my skepticism, I believe the prime minister's speech has lots of beef. The conspiracy he is talking about is real. In the coming days, this issue will become a hot issue. Khan will have to talk in clear terms. This is not the apt time for talking tongue in cheek"

Just like millions of other Pakistanis, I remained glued to the TV for over three hours on Sunday evening.

Just like other people, I didn’t want to come to know about the prime minister’s ‘surprising revelation’ from a second or third mouth.

I watched Prime Minister Imran Khan’s address to ‘Amr Bil Maroof’ rally, which was indeed a charged, and cheering rally. I braved the prime minister’s 105-minute speech, which had a lot of repeated content as well about his government’s performance.

It was a pleasant surprise to see that Khan was speaking highly of his ministers, and his government projects.

But the biggest surprise was in Khan’s waistcoat pocket, which he proverbially kept close to his chest for over one hour.

From time to time, he kept on reminding the crowd both at Parade Ground and the TV audience that the biggest surprise would come soon.

Then the momentary surprise came out in the shape of a letter.

The prime minister took the letter out of his pocket and waved it; then he thundered that a plot was being hatched from abroad to overthrow his government. Some local facilitators were hand in glove with the foreign conspirators and that he had been threatened in writing. Period.

The opposition has laughed off the prime minister’s claim. The media is all focused on the ongoing no-trust motion. But the thing is that Pakistan has a history of successful and botched efforts to overthrow governments through funding and martial laws. In this regard, the reference of former prime minister Zulfiqar comes in handy. Khan, also in a highly emotional manner, referred to Bhutto, who at a joint sitting of the parliament 45 years ago, named the United States for being behind the opposition movement against his government.

PM Khan sees it a vicious circle of history, but the characters of the ongoing plot are tragically odd.

He said when he, on the pattern of Bhutto, tried to enforce an independent foreign policy, he was repeating history. He said the parties of Fazlur Rehman and Nawaz Sharif at that time launched a movement against Bhutto and created circumstances like those present today.

Bhutto’s government was toppled, and Bhutto was hanged.

Well, unlike Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Prime Minister has not named the conspirators – both overseas and domestic. On the other hand, Bhutto thundered in the parliament: “This is a huge global conspiracy with the financial support of the United States to oust me through my political rivals.”

The reason the US ran after Bhutto was Pakistan’s decision not to support the United States in Vietnam and for supporting the Arabs against Israel. This is what Bhutto told the parliament. Several times, Bhutto called the US an elephant “that neither forgets nor forgives”.

Political historians believe that Bhutto was made an example of for initiating the nuclear programme.

The question is what Khan has sinned, which has forced foreign hands to topple his government.

Nothing comes to my mind.

His recent tour to Russia did not make much difference to our foreign policy.

His snub to the ambassadors of the European Union did not hit international headlines.

Despite my skepticism, I believe the prime minister’s speech has lots of beef. The conspiracy he is talking about is real. In the coming days, this issue will become a hot issue. Khan will have to talk in clear terms. This is not the apt time for talking tongue in cheek.