In a shocking development, a US news outlet has released what it claims to be the text of a diplomatic code that was sent to Islamabad last year by the country’s former US ambassador for Pakistan and used by the country’s former prime minister Imran Khan as evidence of a US plot to overthrow his government.
The supposed cypher, which was published on Wednesday by The Intercept, described a meeting between representatives from the US State Department and Pakistan, including Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu.
The US State Department stated that the contents of the leaked cable did not indicate the US taking a stance on who Pakistan’s leader should be, while declining to comment on the accuracy of the cable.
According to the alleged contents of the cable, the US disagreed with Imran Khan’s foreign policy in regards to the conflict in Ukraine.
“Don[ald Lu] referred to Pakistan’s position on the Ukraine crisis and said that ‘people here and in Europe are quite concerned about why Pakistan is taking such an aggressively neutral position (on Ukraine), if such a position is even possible. It does not seem such a neutral stand to us.’ He shared that in his discussions with the NSC, ‘it seems quite clear that this is the prime minister’s policy’, according to the excerpt made public by The Intercept.
Asad Majeed Khan responded that this was an incorrect interpretation of the issue and that Pakistan’s position on Ukraine was the outcome of extensive interagency discussions.
“I asked Don[ald Lu] if the reason for a strong US reaction was Pakistan’s abstention in the voting in the UNGA [United Nations General Assembly]. He categorically replied in the negative and said that it was due to the Prime Minister’s visit to Moscow.”
Lu then replied, “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, I think it will be tough going ahead.”
The alleged wording of the cable describes Asad Majeed Khan’s attempts to allay concerns that Imran Khan’s trip to Russia was anything more than a bilateral one and shouldn’t be interpreted as support for Moscow’s actions against Ukraine.
The envoy added that there was a “feeling that while the US expected Pakistan’s assistance on all matters that were essential to the US, it did not reciprocate and we do not see much US backing on matters of interest for Pakistan, especially when it comes to Kashmir.
