The US State Department in a meeting on March 7, 2022 encouraged the Pakistani government to remove Imran Khan as the country’s Prime Minister over his neutrality in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, US-based news outlet The Intercept reported citing a classified Pakistani government document.
The meeting between the Pakistani ambassador to the US and two US State Department officials has been a matter of intense scrutiny, controversy, and speculation in Pakistan over the past year and a half, as the former Pakistan PM and his military and civilian opponents struggled for power.
The political struggle further escalated on August 5 when Khan was sentenced to three years in prison on corruption charges, according to The Intercept report. However, Khan’s supporters have denied the charges, terming them baseless. The decision announced by the court also blocks Khan from contesting polls expected in Pakistan later this year.
One month after the meeting with US officials was revealed in the Pakistan government’s document, a no-confidence vote was held in Parliament, resulting in Khan’s ouster from power. The vote in the Pakistani parliament was believed to have the support of Pakistan’s army.
The vote is believed to have been organised with the backing of Pakistan’s powerful military. Since his ouster, Khan and his supporters have been involved in a struggle with the army and its civilian allies, whom the former Pakistan PM engineered his removal from power at the request of the US.
In March last year, Pakistan’s then-Prime Minister Imran Kha raised “foreign conspiracy” charge. Addressing the nation amid his coalition government seemingly losing the majority after losing the support of some allies, Khan said a foreign power sent a message that he needs “to be removed” or Pakistan will face consequences.
“A foreign nation sent a message to us (Pakistan) that Imran Khan needs to be removed else Pakistan will suffer consequences,” he said. Referring to “foreign conspiracy letter,” he said its language “was threatening and arrogant”.
On March 27, Khan had waved the “letter” at a public rally saying a foreign conspiracy was afoot to oust him. He had sought to link the opposition’s no-confidence motion with a “foreign-funded” move to topple his government.
The text of the Pakistani cable, known as “cypher”, produced from the meeting by the ambassador and transmitted to Pakistan has revealed the methods used by the US State Department in its push against Khan, promising warmer ties with Islamabad if Khan was removed, and isolation if he was not, The Intercept reported.
The document, titled ‘Secret’, includes an account of the meeting between US State Department officials, including Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu and Asad Majeed Khan, who was then-Pakistan’s ambassador to the US. An anonymous source in the Pakistani military has provided the document to The Intercept.
The cable includes the carrots and sticks used by the US State Department in its push against then-Pakistan PM Imran Khan. The dynamics of the Pakistan-US ties mentioned in the cable were subsequently borne out by events, according to The Intercept report. In the cable, the US has raised objections to the foreign policy of Imran Khan over the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The stance taken by Imran Khan over Ukraine was quickly reversed post his removal from office.
The diplomatic meeting between US State Department officials and the Pakistani government took place two weeks after the conflict between Russia and Ukraine started, as Khan was heading to Moscow. Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan’s visit to Russia angered the US.
On March 2, 2022, just days before the meeting, Lu had been questioned at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing over the neutral stance taken by Pakistan and other nations on the Ukraine conflict. Responding to the question from Senator Chris Van Hollen, Lu said, “Prime Minister Khan has recently visited Moscow, and so I think we are trying to figure out how to engage specifically with the Prime Minister following that decision,” The Intercept reported.
A day before the meeting, Khan, addressing a rally, said, “Are we your slaves?” He asked, “What do you think of us? That we are your slaves and that we will do whatever you ask of us?” In his remarks, then-Pakistan PM said, “We are friends of Russia, and we are also friends of the United States. We are friends of China and Europe. We are not part of any alliance.”