Recently, documents uncovered by The Intercept have revealed that the US State Department has encouraged elements of the Pakistani government to remove populist prime minister Imran Khan due to his neutrality on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
In March 2022, a meeting took place between the Pakistani ambassador to the United States and two State Department officials.
During this meeting, it was suggested that warmer relations with Pakistan would be possible if Khan were removed from power.
One month after he was removed from power in a vote of no confidence organized by Pakistan’s military, Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested for corruption charges.
The Intercept has now obtained text from an internal Pakistani cable known as a “cypher” that was transmitted by the Pakistani ambassador after this meeting.
This document includes an account of what happened during said meeting between Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu and then-Pakistani ambassador Asad Majeed Khan.
It is believed that Lu insinuated Pakistan could be isolated if Khan remained in power due to their excessively neutral stance on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Prior to this meeting, Lu had been questioned by Senate Foreign Relations Committee regarding India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan’s neutrality in said conflict.
In light of these recent events it appears that US displeasure over Pakistan’s neutrality may lead them down a path towards isolation should they choose not to take action against Prime Minister Imran Kahn.
Documents released by The Intercept show how Lu expressed concern about why Pakistan was taking such an aggressively neutral stance when speaking with Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan during their meeting.
He stated: “I cannot tell how this will be seen by Europe but I suspect their reaction will be similar.”
His warning laid out potential consequences should they fail to act accordingly; however it remains unclear as to what those consequences are exactly or if any action is being taken at all currently.
