The US State Department, in a meeting on March 7 last year, urged the Pakistani government to oust Imran Khan from the Prime Minister position due to his neutral stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to a report published by The Intercept.
During the meeting, the Pakistani ambassador to the United States and two State Department officials have drawn tremendous attention, debate, and rumors in Pakistan over the past year and a half.
One month after the meeting, a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan's leadership was held in Parliament. Since then, the PTI chief and his supporters have fought against the military and its civilian collaborators, the report said.
The document titled “Secret”, obtained by The Intercept, includes information on the meeting between US State Department officials and the Pakistani ambassador to the US. In the document, it was mentioned that the US objects to Imran Khan's foreign policy on the Ukraine war. The meeting between the US and Pakistani officials took place two weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On March 2, Lu had been questioned about India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan's neutrality in the Ukraine war during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan has recently visited Moscow, and I think we are trying to figure out how to engage specifically with the Prime Minister following that decision,” Lu responded when asked about Pakistan's recent decision to abstain from voting on a UN resolution criticizing Russia's involvement in the conflict, The Intercept reported.
Imran Khan, while addressing a rally, directly responded to European calls that Pakistan rally behind Ukraine.
“What do you think of us? That we are your slaves and that we will do whatever you ask of us? We are friends of Russia, and we are also friends of the United States. We are friends in China and Europe. We are not part of any alliance,” Khan said as quoted by The Intercept.
After this, Lu directly raised the issue of the no-confidence vote.
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