Pakistan says US did not help topple Imran Khan’s government
Washington allegedly ‘threatened’ Pakistan with ‘consequences’ if Khan was not ousted, claimed Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party
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Your support makes all the difference.Military and civil leaders in Pakistan have rejected former prime minister Imran Khan’s claim of a “foreign conspiracy” causing him to be ousted.
A report by the National Security Committee (NSC) was published days after Mr Khan accused the US of conspiring to topple his government through a parliamentary no-confidence vote following his visit to Moscow against US advice.
The NSC discussed the contents of a diplomatic cable that the former ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed, sent to Islamabad from the Pakistan embassy in Washington giving the US take on Mr Khan’s Moscow visit.
It was in these cables that Washington allegedly “threatened” Pakistan with “consequences” if Mr Khan was not ousted, claimed his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
"The NSC, after reviewing the contents of the communication, the assessment received and the conclusion presented by the security agencies, concludes that there has been no foreign conspiracy,” said the office of new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, adding that country’s intelligence agency also did not find any evidence to support the claim.
Mr Khan’s party has, however, demanded a judicial enquiry into the matter.
The US, which has denied the allegations, welcomed the NSC statement.
“We welcome this statement. And I would also like to underscore that the United States values our longstanding cooperation with Pakistan and has always viewed a strong, prosperous, and democratic Pakistan as critical to US interests,” said US State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter.
In April, Pakistan was plunged into political turmoil days after Mr Khan flew to Moscow to meet president Vladimir Putin on the day Russia invaded Ukraine.
Soon after, his ruling coalition split and a newly formed joint opposition tabled a no-confidence motion that led to his ousting on 10 April.
Mr Khan became the first prime minister of the country to be removed by a no-confidence vote, joining the string of premiers in Pakistan whose five-year term ended prematurely.
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