PremiumKhan, 69, was removed from office through a no-confidence vote held early Sunday morning, becoming the first premier in the country's history to be sent home after losing the trust of the lower house of Parliament
Listen to this article |
Pakistan's ousted prime minister Imran Khan on Sunday called on the people to defend the “sovereignty and democracy" of their country, in the first tweet since his unceremonious removal from office.
“Pakistan became an independent state in 1947; but the freedom struggle begins again today against a foreign conspiracy of regime change. It is always the people of the country who defend their sovereignty and democracy," wrote Khan.
Khan, 69, was removed from office through a no-confidence vote held early Sunday morning, becoming the first premier in the country's history to be sent home after losing the trust of the lower house of Parliament.
He has been claiming for a while that the opposition’s no-confidence motion against him was the result of a “foreign conspiracy" because of his independent foreign policy and funds were being channelled from abroad to oust him from power.
In an address to the nation on Friday, he reiterated his allegations that a senior US diplomat threatened regime change in Pakistan. Khan has alleged that Donald Lu, assistant secretary, bureau of South and Central Asian affairs in the department of State was involved in the ‘foreign conspiracy’ to topple his government.
The US has bluntly rejected Khan's allegations, saying there is "absolutely no truth" to these claims.
Responding to a question on Khan's renewed allegations of the US encouraging the no-confidence vote against his government, deputy state department spokesperson Jalina Porter in a press conference on Friday said, "Let me just say very bluntly there is absolutely no truth to these allegations."
"Of course, we continue to follow these developments, and we respect and support Pakistan’s constitutional process and rule of law. But again, these allegations are absolutely not true," she said.
It was the third time the US state department has publicly commented on Khan's allegations. Previously, Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported that the state department had dismissed the allegation when it initially broke in late March.
On 31 March, State Department Spokesman Ned Price said, "We are closely following developments in Pakistan, and we respect, we support Pakistan’s constitutional process and the rule of law. But when it comes to those allegations, there is no truth to them."
