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The US State Department in a meeting on March 7, 2022 encouraged the Pakistani government to remove Imran Khan as the country's Prime Minister over his neutrality in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, US-based news outlet The Intercept reported citing a classified Pakistani government document, reports Asian News International.
The meeting between the Pakistani ambassador to the US and two US State Department officials has been a matter of intense scrutiny, controversy, and speculation in Pakistan over the past year and a half, as Imran Khan and his military and civilian opponents struggled for power.
The document, titled 'Secret', includes an account of the meeting between US State Department officials, including Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu and Asad Majeed Khan, who was then-Pakistan's ambassador to the US. An anonymous source in the Pakistani military has provided the document to The Intercept.
The political struggle further escalated on August 5 when Imran Khan was sentenced to three years in prison on corruption charges, according to The Intercept report.
However, Khan's supporters have denied the charges, terming them baseless.
The decision announced by the court also blocks Khan from contesting polls expected in Pakistan later this year.
One month after the meeting with US officials was revealed in the Pakistan government's document, a no-confidence vote was held in Parliament, resulting in Khan's ouster from power.
The vote in the Pakistani parliament was believed to have the support of Pakistan's army.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
