WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: The United States has denied for a third time — albeit in stronger words — the claim from former prime minister Imran Khan that the administration of President Joe Biden was behind his ouster from office, dismissing the charge as “propaganda and lies”.
Pakistan has rapidly lurched into disarray after Khan became the country’s first prime minister to be removed from power in a parliamentary vote of no confidence on April 10.
Since his removal, Khan has suggested in packed to the rafters rallies that he was the victim of a US-led conspiracy, referring to communications from then-ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed Khan, who had reported threats by Washington over what the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman said was his “independent” foreign policy.
He had said that he visited Moscow in February against American advice but Washington denied the charge. Khan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, the day Russian forces invaded neighbouring Ukraine.
Diplomatic sources in Islamabad suggest Kremlin had not forewarned Islamabad about its plan to invade Ukraine.
While the United States has dismissed the accusations, they have put a renewed strain on Islamabad’s long-troubled relationship with Washington.
But today, when a journalist asked Ned Price if he thought Khan’s “anti-American campaign” succeeded in “creating fractures among the structure” of the diplomatic relations, the State Department spokesperson said: “We are not going to let propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation — lies — get in the way of any bilateral relationship we have, including with the bilateral relationship we have with Pakistan, one we value.”
The State Department, as well as the Pentagon, have rejected the accusations before too, insisting there is no veracity to them.
