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'All will be forgiven in US': Cypher leaked 4 years after Imran Khan's ouster
The timeline of the conversation between Pakistan and US officials in the cypher was just about a month before Imran Khan failed the no-confidence vote.
Years after Imran Khan was voted out as prime minister in a no-confidence vote in Pakistan, the full text of a damning cypher has been released by a publication, that points to what may have led to the big uprising against him. According to Drop Site, an investigative news outlet based in the US, the cypher documents a March 2022 conversation between then Pakistani ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed Khan, and US diplomat Donald Lu.
The timeline of the conversation was just about a month before Imran Khan failed the no-confidence motion moved against him by the opposition and the government he led was ousted from power.
The contents of the cypher, now published in full, hint that Donald Lu sought Imran Khan's removal as he expressed concerns about Pakistan’s “aggressively neutral position” on Ukraine.
“I think if the no confidence vote against the Prime Minister succeeds, all will be forgiven in Washington because the Russia visit is being looked at as a decision by the Prime Minister. Otherwise, it will be tough going ahead,” Donald Lu told the then Pakistani envoy, as per the cypher, further adding that he thought Imran Khan's "isolation will become very strong from Europe and the United States".
Imran Khan ‘regretted’ Moscow trip
The Russia visit being referred to here is Imran Khan's trip to Moscow on February 23-24, the timing of which coincided with the invasion of Ukraine, thus raising eyebrows in the US.
However, the cypher also quotes ambassador Asad Majeed Khan as saying that Imran Khan “clearly regretted” the Moscow visit. “The Prime Minister's visit, I stressed was purely in the bilateral context and should not be seen either as a condonation or endorsement of Russia's action against Ukraine,” the cypher published by Drop Site reads.
Asad Majeed Khan argued that the prime minister's visit was planned before Ukraine's invasion, and that Ukraine stance was decided institutionally, not personally by Imran Khan.
The document also shows the US diplomat denying Pakistan's appeals for continued engagement, citing the political turmoil in Pakistan. Notably, the Pakistan official questioned if the US was seeing India and Pakistan's absentations on the Ukraine invasion differently.
In his concluding remarks, the Pakistan official said in his "assessment" that Donald Lu could not have "conveyed such a strong demarche" without White House approval. He also suggested taking the remarks in serious regard and issuing the required protest with the US.
Why is the cypher important?
The full text of the leaked cypher has emerged years after Imran Khan claimed US hand in the big attempt from the Opposition to oust him from power. In 2022, Khan claimed to have received a cable from Asad Majeed Khan of his conversation with Donald Lu.
However, the National Security Committee of the Pakistan cabinet had then dismissed Khan's foreign conspiracy charge, saying “no evidence” was found to this end. Imran Khan's claims were dismissed at a meeting that was chaired by prime minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Imran Khan is currently lodged at Pakistan's Adiala Jail, and he has been seeking release on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, citing prolonged solitary confinement.
