ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON: The State Department welcomed the National Security Committee (NSC) statement saying it dismisses the suggestion that the United States had conspired to topple the government of former prime minister Imran Khan through a vote of confidence.
Addressing a press briefing, State Department deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter, when asked to comment, said: “We welcome this statement.”
Khan has accused Washington of backing a conspiracy to remove him. He had said that he visited Moscow against US advice. Washington denies the charge.
Asad Majeed Khan, former Pakistan ambassador to the United States who had written a cable to Islamabad about Washington’s take on Khan’s Moscow visit, briefed the civil and military leaders on the committee.
“The NSC after reviewing the contents of the communication, the assessment received, and the conclusion presented by the security agencies, concludes that there has been no conspiracy,” the statement said.
It had, however, also “reaffirmed the decisions of the last NSC meeting”. In the meeting held in March, the forum had decided to issue a “strong demarche” to a country, that it did not name, over what it said was “blatant interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan”.
During her briefing, Porter reiterated Washington’s position on the matter, saying: “there’s absolutely no truth to those rumours, so we welcome this statement.”
“And I would also like to underscore that the United States values our longstanding cooperation with Pakistan and has always viewed a strong, prosperous, and democratic Pakistan as critical to US interests.”
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party has demanded a judicial probe into the matter.
Khan has aired his conspiracy allegations in three huge public rallies he has held in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar since he was ousted. He has demanded snap elections.
— With Reuters
