https://twitter.com/ShaykhSulaiman/status/1689317573978947584https://theintercept.com/2023/08/09/imran-khan-pakistan-cypher-ukraine-russia/A diplomatic cable of a secret conversation between Biden administration state department officials and the Pakistani ambassador has been leaked to The Intercept, showing that the Biden administration orchestrated the Pakistani government's removal of Imran Khan from office, bringing him up on charges- an attempted assassination- imprisoning him and barring him from running again. And the proximate cause was his neutral position on the Ukraine war.
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The text of the Pakistani cable, produced from the meeting by the ambassador and transmitted to Pakistan, has not previously been published. The cable, known internally as a “cypher,” reveals both the carrots and the sticks that the State Department deployed in its push against Khan, promising warmer relations if Khan was removed, and isolation if he was not.
The document, labeled “Secret,” includes an account of the meeting between State Department officials, including Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, and Asad Majeed Khan, who at the time was Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S.
The document was provided to The Intercept by an anonymous source in the Pakistani military who said that they had no ties to Imran Khan or Khan’s party. The Intercept is publishing the body of the cable below, correcting minor typos in the text because such details can be used to watermark documents and track their dissemination.
The context;
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The day before the meeting, Khan addressed a rally and responded directly to European calls that Pakistan rally behind Ukraine. “Are we your slaves?” Khan thundered to the crowd. “What do you think of us? That we are your slaves and that we will do whatever you ask of us?” he asked. “We are friends of Russia, and we are also friends of the United States. We are friends of China and Europe. We are not part of any alliance.”
The meeting;
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In the meeting, according to the document, Lu spoke in forthright terms about Washington’s displeasure with Pakistan’s stance in the conflict. The document quotes Lu saying 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.” Lu added that he had held internal discussions with the U.S. National Security Council and that “it seems quite clear that this is the Prime Minister’s policy.”
Lu then bluntly raises the issue of a no-confidence vote: “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,” Lu said, according to the document. “Otherwise,” he continued, “I think it will be tough going ahead.”
Lu warned that if the situation wasn’t resolved, Pakistan would be marginalized by its Western allies. “I cannot tell how this will be seen by Europe but I suspect their reaction will be similar,” Lu said, adding that Khan could face “isolation” by Europe and the U.S. should he remain in office.
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Lu’s blunt comments on Pakistan’s internal domestic politics raised alarms on the Pakistani side. In a brief “assessment” section at the bottom of the report, the document states: “Don could not have conveyed such a strong demarche without the express approval of the White House, to which he referred repeatedly. Clearly, Don spoke out of turn on Pakistan’s internal political process.” The cable concludes with a recommendation “to seriously reflect on this and consider making an appropriate demarche to the U.S. Cd’ A a.i in Islamabad” — a reference to the chargé d’affaires ad interim, effectively the acting head of a diplomatic mission when its accredited head is absent. A diplomatic protest was later issued by Khan’s government.
There has been a less than subtle mirror between how Imran Khan has been railroaded by a corrupt justice system- not at all a new development for Pakistan- and the ongoing attempt on Donald Trump. But here we have strong evidence that the true shift in power that led to Khan's ouster came from western intervention rather than the internal political intrigue that is all too common in Pakistan. The US state department made their wishes clear and their threats clear, and the Pakistani military did their bidding.
Now Pakistan is a supplier of arms for Ukraine, hosted Ukrainian delegations and taken a pro-Ukraine stance. Meanwhile the Pakistani military has reaped generous contracts and military aid, with a new defense pact signed.
Its just this week that Khan was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment and 5 years barred from holding office, all after a transparent show trial that didn't even bother with pretense.