Lawmakers want Imran to pay for 'US plot' allegations

Treasury members, including two federal ministers, lambasted Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the National Assembly on Monday for "taking a U-turn on the cipher issue", declaring that the ex-premier would have to pay a "political price" for his "lies and false narrative" regarding the US-backed regime change conspiracy.

The government members, in their lengthy and one-sided speeches on points of order during the lacklustre proceedings, also criticised the PTI chief for making the army chief's appointment 'controversial' and 'street gossip' through his public addresses.

"No, it's not all over. The time has come to grab you from the collar… you will have to pay the political price for playing with the honour and prestige of the nation," said Defence Minister Khawaja Asif while addressing Mr Khan after taking the floor of the assembly on a point of order when the house met after a two-day recess.

The outburst came a day after Mr Khan's interview was published in the British newspaper, Financial Times, in which he had reportedly stated he no longer "blames" the US administration for his removal from power in April and that he wanted a "dignified" relationship between Washington and Islamabad.

"As far as I'm concerned, it is over, it's behind me," the newspaper had quoted Mr Khan's comments on the US role in the alleged conspiracy.

The ex-premier's remarks came as a surprise, as Mr Khan has been campaigning against the alleged US conspiracy since his ouster from power. He lent strength to his narrative by referring to a cipher that the then Pakistan's ambassador to the US had sent to Foreign Office after a meeting with Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu.

The defence minister said: "He [Imran] should not be allowed to get off scot-free. He will have to pay the price as per the Constitution and law."

He added, "You cannot simply run away by giving an interview to a British newspaper and by starting efforts to mend relations with the US through appeasement."

He alleged Mr Khan had hired someone on $25,000 salary for lobbying in the US on his behalf. However, the minister alleged, Mr Khan "buried" his narrative of "imported government" on the basis of which he had been running a protest campaign and holding a long march.

The minister recalled that the PTI chief through his allegations against the US had "embarrassed" the entire country and then he wanted the nation to forget that narrative that damaged Pakistan's foreign relations.

Known for taking U-turns, Mr Khan did not stand by his words for more than a few months or weeks, Mr Asif said, terming the PTI chief's latest statement a "warning for the whole society", particularly those who still had trust "in this fraudster".