All will be forgiven: US orchestrated Imran Khan's ouster, leaked cable reveals

A leaked Pakistani diplomatic cable has reignited controversy over the ouster of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, with investigative outlet Drop Site publishing the original document at the centre of the cricketer-turned-politician's claims of US-backed regime change.

In Short

• Imran Khan alleged US-backed regime change due to his foreign policy stance
• Cable shows US official discussed Khan's removal before no-confidence vote
• US official hinted at improved ties if Khan ousted, warned of isolation otherwise

A bombshell leak of a top-secret diplomatic cable has thrust former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s "foreign conspiracy" claims back into the spotlight, reviving questions over Washington’s role in his ouster from power.

Investigative outlet Drop Site published the original document, known as a cypher, at the centre of the cricketer-turned-politician’s claims of US-backed regime change in Pakistan. The document, identified as cable I-0678, records a meeting between Pakistan’s then-ambassador to Washington and senior US State Department official Donald Lu shortly before Imran Khan lost a no-confidence vote in April 2022.

Imran Khan had repeatedly claimed that the US worked behind the scenes to remove him because of his independent foreign policy and refusal to fully align with it against Russia and China. Washington has denied the allegations, saying there was "no truth" to the claims and that Khan never produced evidence proving foreign involvement.

Khan also accused Pakistan’s dynastic political parties -- Pakistan Muslim League-N and Pakistan Peoples Party -- of working with foreign powers to topple his government. Both parties rejected the allegations and maintained that Khan’s removal was constitutional and driven by domestic political failures.

The no-confidence vote marked the first time a Pakistani Prime Minister had been ousted through such a process. A year later, he was convicted in a corruption case and jailed. Khan has since remained incarcerated.

Now, the release of the cable by Drop Site would be a vindication for Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, and his supporters, who have stood by their allegations of foreign influence in Islamabad's spheres of power.

'ALL WILL BE FORGIVEN'

The phrase "all will be forgiven", allegedly used during the conversation between Donald Lu and the Pakistani envoy, is especially telling. It was a not-so-subtle signal that the ouster and jailing of Imran Khan would enable closer ties between Pakistan and the US.

Pakistan has long been viewed as a pariah state due to military coups, political and economic instability, and support for proscribed terrorist groups. During his first term, US President Donald Trump denied Pakistan military aid, saying that it was not doing enough to combat terrorism. After Joe Biden took office in 2021, his administration kept its distance from Imran Khan, the report stated.

Khan publicly rejected a US request for military bases after a resurgent Taliban forced an American withdrawal from Afghanistan. The move reportedly frustrated Washington. He also visited Moscow on the very day Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, despite US officials reportedly urging Pakistan to cancel the visit beforehand.

Pakistan later abstained from a UN vote condemning Russia’s invasion, further straining ties with Washington and Western allies.

It became increasingly clear to Washington that Imran Khan had to go.

According to the document, Donald Lu suggested that relations between Islamabad and Washington could improve if Khan were removed through the parliamentary vote. The cable also reportedly mentioned that Pakistan could face "isolation" from both the US and Europe if Khan survived the challenge.

PAK MILITARY UNDERMINED IMRAN KHAN

Drop Site’s report also alleged that Pakistan’s powerful military establishment had begun engaging with Washington separately from Khan’s government well before his removal. It claimed the Pakistani military hired a former CIA-linked lobbyist in Washington in 2021 while relations between Khan and the US deteriorated.

After Khan’s ouster, the report says Pakistan’s military-backed government shifted closer to US strategic priorities. It began surreptitiously supplying artillery ammunition for the Ukraine war effort. The weapons shipments moved through US contractors and third-party intermediaries.

The report further claimed that the International Monetary Fund's bailouts to Pakistan were quietly tied to the continuation of military supplies linked to the Ukraine conflict.

ASIM MUNIR AS WASHINGTON’S POINT MAN

With Imran Khan out of the picture, Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir started consolidating power. After promoting himself to the rank of Field Marshall and becoming Islamabad's de-facto liaison with Washington, he has increasingly aligned the military-led government with with US strategic interests.

According to the report, Pakistan signed a Saudi defence pact that Khan’s government had resisted. Islamabad also pursued rare earths and cryptocurrency partnerships after Trump's return to the White House, which led to a dramatic reset in ties.

In an effort to remain strategically valuable to Washington, Pakistan’s military leadership slowed the expansion of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (resulting in a cooling of ties with Beijing), and reassured Washington on nuclear and wider strategic issues.

The publication of the full cable comes at a sensitive moment for Pakistan’s ties with Washington. In recent months, Islamabad has sought to position itself as a key regional player by playing mediator in the negotiations to end the US-Iran war.

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