A leaked diplomatic cipher lately printed by a U.S.-based media outlet led to an uproar in Pakistan, because it revealed U.S. involvement within the ousting of then-Prime Minister Imran Khan final 12 months.
Outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated on Thursday that if the alleged contents of the cipher printed by the U.S.-based The Intercept publication on Wednesday are “true,” it quantities to a “massive crime.”
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the occasion of incarcerated Khan, then again, reiterated its demand for an investigation into the cipher despatched by the nation’s former Ambassador to Washington Asad Majeed, final 12 months, which Khan had cited as “proof” of a conspiracy to topple his authorities.
Khan was deposed by a vote of no confidence in Parliament on April 9, 2022.
The Intercept printed what it stated is leaked content material from the cipher, which included an account of a gathering between U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu and then-Pakistani Ambassador Asad Majeed.
“Details of the key doc (cipher) have as soon as once more endorsed the stand of Imran Khan that the no-trust transfer towards his Constitutional and democratically-elected authorities was introduced below a conspiracy,” stated the PTI in a press release.
Following his assembly with Lu, the Pakistani diplomat despatched the cipher to the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad.
According to the complete transcript of the cipher printed by the news web site, Lu talked about the no-confidence movement.
The ambassador wrote to Islamabad: “He (Donald Lu) stated that ‘I think if the no-confidence vote against the Prime Minister (Imran Khan) succeeds, all will be forgiven in Washington because the Russia visit is being looked at as a decision by the Prime Minister. Otherwise, I think it will be tough going ahead.’”
Then-Prime Minister Khan visited Moscow in February 2022 and met with President Vladimir Putin on the day Russia declared battle on Ukraine.
The PTI chief blamed Washington and his then-Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa for the collapse of his coalition authorities.
However, each Washington and his successor authorities in Islamabad have repeatedly denied the accusation.
‘Washington objected to Khan’s international coverage’
According to the cipher’s purported contents, Washington objected to Khan’s international coverage relating to the Ukraine battle.
“Don (Donald Lu) referred to Pakistan’s place on the Ukraine disaster and stated that ‘people here and in Europe are quite concerned about why Pakistan is taking such an aggressively neutral position if such a position is even possible. It does not seem such a neutral stand to us.’ He shared that in his discussions with the NSC, ‘it seems quite clear that this is the prime minister’s coverage,’” learn the cipher excerpt.
In response, the ambassador stated this was not an accurate studying of the scenario as Pakistan’s place on Ukraine was the “results of intense interagency consultations.”
Sharif, nonetheless, stated the previous Pakistani ambassador to the U.S., “clearly” told a National Security Council (NSC) meeting that “there was no dialogue of a conspiracy in his assembly with Donald Lu.”
“Imran Niazi said that this conspiracy was hatched because of his growing relations with Russia … but my government purchased cheap oil from Russia,” he added.
Last 12 months, Pakistan’s successive governments, first led by Khan after which by Sharif, held two NSC conferences to debate the cipher. The NSC famous that there was exterior interference in Pakistan.
Following his assembly with Lu, the ambassador added a be aware of evaluation in his cipher to the Foreign Office in Islamabad: “Don (Donald Lu) couldn’t have conveyed such a robust demarche with out the specific approval of the White House, to which he referred repeatedly. Clearly, Don spoke out of activate Pakistan’s inner political course of. We want to noticeably replicate on this and take into account making an applicable demarche to the U.S. Cd’ A a.i (cost d’affaires) in Islamabad,” The Intercept reported.
Islamabad later summoned the then-U.S. diplomat in Pakistan to lodge the protest.
Anadolu Agency (AA) was unable to independently confirm the contents of the cipher revealed by The Intercept.
The publication claimed the cipher was supplied to it “by an nameless supply within the Pakistani army who stated that that they had no ties to Imran Khan or Khan’s occasion.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com
