Report: US Pushed Pakistan to Oust Imran Khan

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Facts

  • Days after Pakistan's former PM Imran Khan was sentenced to three years in prison on corruption charges he denies, a classified document obtained by The Intercept and published Wednesday suggests the US State Department pressured the Pakistani government to remove Khan from office.1
  • Khan, the former cricketer turned politician, was ousted from power in April 2022 when his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party lost a vote of no confidence. At the time, he claimed that the US had hatched a plot to topple his government for his refusal to cancel his late February visit to Moscow.2
  • The alleged classified Pakistani government document shows that a meeting was held between two US State Department officials and Asad Majeed Khan, Pakistan's then-ambassador to the US, on March 7, 2022.3
  • In the meeting, the US representatives reportedly voiced their displeasure at Khan's neutrality on Russia's war with Ukraine, adding that if a no-confidence vote against Khan succeeds, "all will be forgiven in Washington." If not, "it will be tough going ahead."4
  • On March 8, Pakistan's opposition parties submitted a formal request to the country's parliament requiring that Khan face a no-confidence vote for alleged poor governance and a dwindling economy. Khan lost the vote on April 10.5
  • When asked to comment on The Intercept's report, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said: "The allegations that the United States has interfered in internal decisions about the leadership of Pakistan are false. They have always been false, and they continue to be."6

Sources: 1Intercept, 2The Diplomat, 3VOA, 4The Times of India, 5Reuters, and 6DAWN.

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Intercept. The classified document makes clear in black and white the carrot-and-stick approach adopted by the US: if Imran Khan is removed from power, all would be forgiven in Washington. If not, there would be consequences — economic and otherwise — for the country's bilateral relations.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by GEO. This cable doesn't prove anything other than Khan's incessant effort to promote a conspiracy theory against Washington. The US had publicly and privately expressed its concerns to Pakistan over its stance on the Russia-Ukraine war. However, any allegation that the US interfered in the country's internal political processes is categorically false.