Dhaka, Aug 11 (Representative) The USA had threatened to isolate Pakistan if Imran Khan was not removed from the post of Prime Minister. There was a decision at a secret meeting of the US State Department to topple Imran Khan as Pakistan remained neutral on the Russia-Ukraine war. This was revealed in a report by the American-based media ‘The Intercept’ citing official documents of Pakistan. According to the documents, US Assistant Secretary for Central and South Asian Affairs Donald Lu expressed anger over Pakistan’s position in the Russia-Ukraine war in a secret meeting.Lu warned that the West’s relationship with Pakistan would deteriorate if the position on the war did not change. A meeting was held between the two officials of the USA Department of State and Pakistani Embassy in the USA on March 7 last year. There, the issue of power struggle between the Pakistan army and the opposition with Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was discussed. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made similar comments a few days ago. She directly said “America wants to remove me”. While speaking at a discussion meeting at the National Press Club on August 9, 2023 Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen also said foreigners are conspiring against the government of Bangladesh. Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have similar statements.
When asked in a regular press briefing about this document, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, “This comment does not imply that the US is determining who will be the leader of Pakistan.” Miller did not agree to say anything in detail about that secret meeting. According to secret documents, at the end of the meeting, the then Pakistani ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed Khan, said the Russia-Ukraine war would not affect the relationship between Islamabad and Washington. Meanwhile, Lu said that the relationship will be normal only after Imran is removed. The day after that secret meeting in the United States, i.e. on March 8, 2021, the no-confidence vote against Imran started in Pakistan’s parliament. A month later, Imran lost power.Imran visited Moscow after the start of Russia-Ukraine war in February last year. Within two weeks, Pakistan government and US State Department officials sat in the meeting. Because the United States was angry with Imran’s visit to Moscow. A day before this meeting Imran said in a rally, “Are we slaves? What do you think? We are friends of Russia and the United States. We are friends of China. Europe is also a friend. We are not part of any coalition”. So former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and current Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina are caught in the same conspiracy.