‘CIA chief waited to meet Imran Khan, refused’: Report reveals US role in ousting former Pakistani PM

A leaked top-secret diplomatic cable suggests the United States played a role in the ouster of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was voted out in a no-confidence motion in April 2022.

These developments occurred about a month before Khan lost an opposition-led no-confidence vote, leading to the fall of his government. (Reuters)

A report by US investigative media outlet Drop Site says the diplomatic code contains details of a March 2022 discussion between Pakistan’s ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed Khan, and US diplomat Donald Lu.

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What led to Imran Khan’s ouster?

The events leading to Khan’s removal date back to June 2021, when William J Burns, then director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), traveled to Islamabad to meet the then Pakistani Prime Minister.

Reports at the time said he waited an entire day to meet him, but the meeting never took place. Khan’s office reportedly informed Burns by telephone that the prime minister would only speak to his official counterpart as part of diplomatic protocol.

At the time, his counterpart was President Joe Biden, who reportedly declined several requests for a direct conversation after taking office in January of that year.

These developments occurred about a month before Khan lost an opposition-led no-confidence vote, leading to the fall of his government.

Burns had notably traveled to Pakistan to seek access to Pakistani territory for U.S. drone bases that would be used against targets in Afghanistan following the planned U.S. withdrawal. He would have left without securing either the bases or having met the Prime Minister.

The report said this caused frustration in Washington. Khan also visited Moscow on the same day Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, despite reports that US officials had asked Pakistan to cancel the trip beforehand.

In the early 2020s, many US policy circles believed that Washington should withdraw from Afghanistan and reduce its engagement with Islamabad.

Did the Pakistani army contribute to Khan’s ouster?

The Drop Site report also claimed that Pakistan’s military leadership began holding separate engagements with Washington before Khan was dismissed.

In July 2021, unbeknownst to the prime minister, the military reportedly hired a former CIA station chief in Islamabad as a lobbyist in Washington. The report describes this as an early sign that Pakistan’s generals have begun to pursue an independent path outside of the elected government.

Khan was removed from office on April 9, 2022, through a no-confidence motion supported by the Pakistani military. His party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, was subsequently banned, lost its electoral symbol ahead of the 2024 general elections and was not allowed to run under its own name. Those who won seats as independent candidates were also denied certification.

Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were later sent to prison in connection with several cases involving allegations of corruption, contempt and national security. Both remain behind bars, while Khan has been held in solitary confinement since last year.

With the contribution of agencies

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