KARACHI: The Federal Minister for Infor­mation and Broadcasting, Mr Mohammad Hanif Khan said … yesterday [May 19] that Mr Asghar Khan’s baseless allegations about a conspiracy to have him assassinated was an absurd tactic to gain cheap popularity. The Minister said at a Press conference that in normal circumstances he would have taken no notice… . But he felt that Asghar Khan had ulterior motives and, therefore, it was his duty to debunk him. … The Minister said it was an absolutely ridiculous idea … that the Government would hatch a conspiracy against a man like Asghar Khan. He is a leader without a follower… . … The Minister said that Asghar Khan was also creating misunderstanding about the Government’s plan to hold elections. … He said that … Asghar Khan had been making baseless allegations about the existence of secret clauses in Simla Agreement. — News agencies

[Meanwhile, according to the Islamabad Bureau,] ...[Tehrik Istiqlal Chief Air Marshal (Retired) M. Asghar Khan] said his party stood for normalisation of relations with India but “not at the cost of freedom and sovereignty”. He … suspected “secret clauses” in Simla Agreement... .

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2026