WASHINGTON: The United States has once again rejected the accusation that Washington orchestrated a conspiracy to oust former prime minister Imran Khan from power, and reiterated its resolve not to let “propaganda, misinformation and disinformation” influence the historic ties between the two nations.
The response from Washington on Wednesday came days after Khan signalled his readiness to mend ties with the US after repeatedly accusing Washington of conspiring to remove him through the contentious vote of no-confidence.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s over, it’s behind me. The Pakistan I want to lead must have good relationships with everyone, especially the United States,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times.
While Khan expressed a willingness to work with Washington if he is re-elected and said he wanted a “dignified” relationship with the US, the change in his tone was dubbed a U-turn by his opponents in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance.
A spokesperson for the Department of State, Vedant Patel, when asked to comment on the interview during a press briefing, said: “As we’ve previously said, there has — there is not and there has never been a truth to these allegations, but I don’t have anything additional to offer.”
During his interview, Khan also criticised Pakistan’s relationship with the US. “Our relationship with the US has been as of a master-servant relationship, or a master-slave relationship, and we’ve been used like a hired gun. But for that I blame my own governments more than the US,” he told the British publication.
However, during the press briefing, Patel emphasised the US viewed a prosperous and democratic Pakistan as critical to Washington’s interests.
“And we don’t have a position on one political candidate of a party versus another. We support the peaceful upholding of democratic, constitutional, and legal principles,” Patel said.
“Ultimately, we will not let propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation get in the way of any bilateral relationship, including our valued bilateral partner with Pakistan,” the Indian-origin spokesperson added.
Also on Wednesday, Khan, in another interview with France24 TV station, said he had never backtracked from his claims of the foreign conspiracy that led to the toppling of his government.
In the latest interview, Khan said he had a diplomatic cable in which Donald Lu, assistant secretary of state for south and central Asia, told the Pakistan ambassador in Washington at the time, Asad Majeed Khan, in early March that there would be consequences if he was not ousted through the no-confidence vote — which was yet to be tabled then.
“So, that’s exactly what I said. I never backtracked on this. The cipher exists. It was put in front of the cabinet. It was put in front of the National Security [Committee]. It is now with the chief justice where we wanted him to hold an independent inquiry,” Khan said.
