U.S. Regime Change Strikes Again
According to a recent report in The Intercept, U.S. officials "encouraged" the Pakistani government to remove Prime Minister Imran Khan from power.
If there is anything Washington has mastered, it is the art of interfering in the business of foreign countries in an effort to produce a favorable outcome for the global American Empire. Whether it is by supporting coups, financing various anti-regime movements, or intervening in the political affairs of other countries, the U.S. government has accomplished these tactics for decades.
The latest unfortunate country to be subject to these operations is the South Asian nation of Pakistan and its former Prime Minister, Imran Khan. As revealed by The Intercept this past week, U.S. government officials “encouraged” the Pakistani government to remove Imran Khan from office via a no-confidence vote in March of 2022.
The Pakistani government document unveils a conversation that was held at the time between Asad Majeed Khan, Pakistani Ambassador to the United States, and two officials from the State Department, which included Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. According to the transcript of the meeting, Lu conveyed dissatisfaction with Khan’s approach to the war in Ukraine, criticizing his “aggressively neutral position” and his recent trip to Moscow. (Khan was en route to Russia before Moscow decided to invade Ukraine).
At the time surrounding the invasion, Khan and his government took a beating on the international stage, as many countries disagreed vehemently with his policy of neutrality. “What do you think of us? That we are your slaves and that we will do whatever you ask of us?” Khan asked the West at a political rally a day before the meeting. “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.”
Evidently, the Biden administration took notable exception to Khan’s policy and remarks. Lu threatened the Pakistani ambassador, warning that relations “will be tough going ahead” if the no-confidence vote to remove Khan failed. In addition, Lu said that Pakistan would experience international “isolation” if Khan wasn’t ousted from power. “Honestly,” Lu was recorded as saying, “I think isolation of the Prime Minister will become very strong from Europe and the United States.”
“I think if the no-confidence vote against the Prime Minister succeeds, all will be forgiven in Washington,” Lu said. Soon enough, the no-confidence vote advanced in the Pakistani Parliament, and Khan was eventually removed from office the following month, despite being an extraordinarily popular leader within Pakistan.
Shortly before his ouster, Khan discussed the then-classified memo, blaming the U.S. for engaging in a “foreign conspiracy” against his duly elected government. “They say they are angry with Pakistan,” Khan said. “They say they will forgive Pakistan if Imran Khan loses a no-trust motion. But if the vote fails, Pakistan will have to face serious consequences.”
The memo was initially portrayed as an exaggerated conspiracy theory by Western media and the Pakistani establishment, but Khan has been proven right. As the document proves, there was a conspiracy against his government, and the Biden administration was at the forefront of it. State Department officials are on record promising more amicable relations between the two countries if Khan is ousted, along with threatening deterioration in affairs as well as diplomatic and international “isolation” if he isn’t.
Incentives for Removing Khan
When perusing the broader picture surrounding U.S.-Pakistan relations, it becomes clear that the U.S. had plenty of incentives for wanting to eliminate Khan. Even before ascending to the role of Prime Minister, Khan was an outspoken critic of the War on Terror and the way in which it was conducted. At times, he highlighted the detrimental impact the war had on his country and argued that the war was strategically unwinnable.
Additionally, Khan had an unfriendly relationship with the CIA as Prime Minister. For instance, Khan adamantly refused to converse with CIA Director William Burns in April 2021 after the latter arrived in Islamabad unannounced to discuss cooperation between the two countries regarding counter-terrorism operations. In an interview with Axios a few months later, Khan affirmed that Pakistan would “absolutely not” allow the CIA to utilize bases on its soil to conduct cross-border missions into neighboring Afghanistan.
But the biggest rift between Washington and Islamabad was Khan’s position on Ukraine and his advocacy of diplomacy. His Jeffersonian foreign policy very much irritated those in the West who demanded complete and universal acceptance of the narrative that Putin was de facto Hitler and Russia was an evil and illegitimate state that must be stopped. But Khan didn’t budge. Instead, he affirmed Pakistan’s mindset of no alliances and pledged to work with anyone who sought to end the conflict through dialogue.
By eliminating Khan, the Biden administration removed a consistent critic of American foreign policy from the international stage and one of the only sane voices at the time proposing peace. The government that succeeded Khan was a vastly different regime, becoming pro-Ukraine and more aligned with the U.S. worldview. Pakistan has since become an arms dealer to the Ukrainian army and a more intimate partner with the U.S. military.
Sowing Chaos and Authoritarianism
In the aftermath of the no-confidence vote, a massive wave of protests occurred throughout the country. Hundreds of thousands gathered to showcase their solidarity with the outgoing Prime Minister and to voice their discontent at his removal. The Pakistani military, widely believed to be partly responsible for Kahn’s ousting, ushered in a new era of authoritarianism, instituting more control, brutally suppressing protest movements, and establishing mass censorship.
Despite his dismissal, Khan was nonetheless the favorite to win the election in October 2023. But events took their course. In early May, Khan was briefly arrested by the military on questionable corruption charges and was subsequently released due to the Supreme Court ruling his detention illegal, sparking more violent protests and clashes between the citizenry and the military. Earlier this month, Khan was sentenced to three years in prison on different corruption charges and was prohibited from participating in politics for five years.
It is not that far of a stretch to state that the Biden administration created, or, at the very least, influenced the unrest and instability we are currently witnessing in nuclear-armed Pakistan. An outside actor “encouraging” the removal of a highly popular figure from power is grounds to create a nightmarish situation in any country. At any rate, the world is now aware of American regime change efforts, which ultimately influenced the Pakistani government to dismiss its leader.
The U.S. government can incessantly criticize Russia or China all it wants, but the fact of the matter is that no other government on Earth interferes more in the foreign world and causes such divisiveness and conflict. Imran Khan was not a brutal dictator, but a man of the people and a voice of reason. Neither he nor the people of Pakistan deserve what has transpired over the past year and a half, and the Biden administration had no right whatsoever to dictate the policies of their nation.
«Aggressively neutral position» might seem terrible newspeak at the first glance, but upon some consideration it's something I'd like to hold more often.