Pakistan Set to Call Election This Week After Imran Khan Jailed
TimeAug 03, 2023
Report: US Pushed Pakistan to Oust Imran Khan
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Image copyright: US Institute of Peace [via Wikimedia Commons]
The 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.
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.
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
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
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.
