It's all in 'Cypher': How US exerted pressure on Pakistan to oust Khan
9 Min Read
A confidential Pakistani government document acquired by The Intercept shows how the US State Department pressured the Pakistani government in March 2022 to oust Imran Khan due to his neutral position on Russia.
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Former PM of Pakistan Imran Khan speaks during a news conference in Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan, on November 4, 2022 (AP)
According to a classified document obtained by The Intercept, the US State Department pressured the Pakistani government to oust Imran Khan as prime minister due to his neutral stance on Russia's war in Ukraine.
The document, which details a meeting between Pakistan's ambassador to the United States and two State Department officials, has been the subject of considerable scrutiny and discord in Pakistan over the last year and a half.
A court in Islamabad sentenced Khan to three years in jail, alongside disqualifying him from politics for “corrupt practices".
Khan was escorted by police from his home in Lahore on Saturday, after a ruling in the Toshakaha case came out, in which he was accused of illegally selling gifts worth hundreds of millions of rupees originally intended for the state.
Khan's supporters were enraged after his arrest in an alleged corruption case in May and protested for several days. The bloody violence that ensued amid the police crackdown did not subside until after Khan was released by order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
A no-confidence vote a month after the meeting with US officials led to Khan's fall from power. The meeting included Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu and Asad Majeed Khan, then-ambassador to the US.
Known as "Cypher", the never-seen-before Pakistani cable entails the itty-gritty tactics used by the US in its campaign against Khan, promising closer relations if Khan was removed.
'All to be forgiven' in Washington
The paper was handed to The Intercept by an unnamed source in Pakistan's military who claimed to have no links to Imran Khan or his party. The US organization published the contents with some minor corrections.
The cable details how the meeting occurred two weeks after the war in Ukraine began, during which Khan was on his way to Moscow. The US rejected Khan's position on the Ukraine war, a position that immediately changed after he was removed.
During a Senate hearing on March 2, days before the meeting, Lu was questioned regarding India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan's neutrality over the Ukraine war. Lu responded to a question from Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., about Pakistan's abstention from a UN resolution condemning Russia by stating that the US was "trying to figure out how to engage specifically with the Prime Minister following that decision."
Van Hollen seemed unhappy that State officials were yet to contact Khan regarding his position on Russia.
A day before the meeting, Khan publicly questioned Europe's demands that Pakistan should support Ukraine, stating, “Are we your slaves?”
“We are friends of Russia, and we are also friends of the United States. We are friends of China and Europe. We are not part of any alliance.”
According to the document, Lu was vocal about the US' unhappiness about Pakistan's position on Russia and revealed that if the no-confidence vote goes through "all will be forgiven in Washington," adding that the Russia visit will be considered a decision by Khan himself alone.
He warned, however, that if the vote failed, Pakistan would be "isolated".
Miller denies interfering in 'internal matters'
When questioned about the cable, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller refused to comment on "private diplomatic discussions."
The Pakistani Ambassador expressed his frustration that while the US "expected Pakistan’s support on all issues that were important to the U.S., it did not reciprocate.”
The Ambassador hoped the country's position on the Ukraine war would not impact "our bilateral ties," while Lu assured him that if Khan was ousted, things would go back to normal.
Arif Rafiq, a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute and specialist on Pakistan expressed that after the meeting, Khan's fate was expected, as the Biden administration had sent a message to the people that the situation would improve if Khan was removed. On March 8, opponents of Khan proceeded with the vote.
Miller also added that the US only "expressed concern" about Khan's visit to Russia and that the claims that the US "interfered in internal decisions about the leadership of Pakistan are false."
The State Department repeatedly denied that Lu encouraged the Pakistani government to depose Khan. Previously, Khan said there was a cable corroborating his accusation of US intervention on April 8, 2022, which State Department Spokesperson Jalina Porter was questioned about its credibility. "Let me just say very bluntly, there is absolutely no truth to these allegations," Porter claimed at the time.
The bottom of the cable includes an assessment that details Don "could not have conveyed such a strong demarche without the express approval of the White House."
Khan reiterated his claims in an interview for The Intercept in June.
Khan's supporters and political party were met with a crackdown in recent months for their support, something that has been ignored by the US. In a recent visit in July, the head of US Central Command, Gen. Michael Kurilla, stated that his visit focused on “strengthening the military-to-military relations."
This summer, Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, attempted to add a measure to the National Defense Authorization Act directing the State Department to examine democratic backsliding in Pakistan, but it was denied a vote on the House floor.
While the US has made itself a champion for democracy in other countries, Miller responded to a question on Monday regarding fairness in Khan's trial by calling it "an internal matter for Pakistan.”
"Internal matters" have seldom ever stopped the US from interfering in other nations.
Press crackdown
Khan's deposition triggered numerous protests amid an economic crisis and global energy inflation. To add to this, The Intercept previously reported that the Pakistani military has attempted to enforce extreme censorship, stopping news outlets from barely mentioning Khan's name.
The onslaught on Pakistan's press took an especially sinister turn after Arshad Sharif, a famous journalist who fled Pakistan, was shot dead in Nairobi in October and Imran Riaz Khan, a renowned journalist, was taken by security authorities at an airport in May and unseen since. Both were allegedly reporting on the secret cable.
In November 2022, Khan survived an assassination attempt. Pakistani news channel Geo stated that he was injured in the leg after an anonymous attacker shot his convoy, leading to the injury of five other people from his party, Tehreek-e-Insaf.
Read next: Khan says opponents likely to try assassinating him again: Der Spiegel
Rafiq, the Middle East Institute scholar, believes the "flimsy charges" brought against Khan, along with his attempted assassination, point to the fact that Pakistani forces are using "outside forces to preserve their hegemony over the country." He pointed to how the Biden administration is turning a blind eye to Pakistan becoming "a full-fledged military dictatorship."
The Intercept's source, who accessed the document as a military worker, expressed fear that the military is driving Pakistan into a crisis comparable to the one that led to Bangladesh's separation in 1971. The source expressed hope that the leaked document would force a change within the military of Pakistan.
Since his removal, Pakistan has openly been more critical of Russia, reinforcing the document's claims that the neutrality toward Russia was Khan's position and not the military's. Former Army Chief Qamar called Russia's operation an "invasion" and a “huge tragedy".
Pakistan has also contributed weapons to Ukraine, something confirmed by an EU official earlier.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister visited Pakistan in July, ostensibly for military cooperation but publicly presented as focused on commerce, education, and environmental problems.
The move has reportedly been compensated by the US, with a Pakistani publication detailing a pact between the two containing "joint exercises, operations, training, basing, and equipment."
Khan addressed the cable publicly on March 27, 2022, waving documents in the air during a protest. He also allegedly briefed the leaders of Pakistan's major security agencies on its contents at a national security meeting.
Shehbaz Sharif, the new Prime Minister, admitted to the existence of the cable and considered some of Lu's statements "inappropriate".
According to The Intercept, the revelation of its contents a year after Khan was removed will allow all claims to be properly investigated. At the most, the document shows the US practically warned of severe repercussions if Khan were to not be removed.
Lu explicitly states in the document that if Khan stays in office, he believes the "isolation...will become very strong from Europe and the United States."
In July, Khan appeared before the country's Federal Investigation Agency to face allegations of leaking a confidential document. Sharif's administration vowed that it will punish Khan for "exposing an official secret document" last year when he displayed a sensitive diplomatic letter at a rally, saying it was "proof" that he was threatened.
In July, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah revealed that Khan would be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act in connection with the cable, accusing him of "a hatched a conspiracy against the state’s interests."
