US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu rubbishes Imran Khan’s cipher ‘conspiracy theory’
Lu said that the US respected Pakistan’s sovereignty and the principle of the Pakistani nation choosing its own leaders through a democratic principle.
US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu has rubbished Imran Khan’s cipher ‘conspiracy theory’!
The US diplomat termed the allegations against him, which formed the crux of the cipher controversy, by former prime minister Imran Khan as a “conspiracy theory, lie and complete falsehood”.
On Wednesday, testifying before a subcommittee of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, at a hearing titled ‘Pakistan After the Elections: Examining the Future of Democracy in Pakistan and the US-Pakistan Relationship’, Lu was questioned about the allegations and his assessment of them.
When questioned about the allegations of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder, the US diplomat said he viewed the media reports regarding the alleged leaked cipher that Imran Khan claimed contained the threat issued by Lu in a meeting with then-Pakistan’s ambassador Asad Majeed in Washington in 2022 days before the ouster of the PTI-led government.
Lu said: “I want to be very clear on this point. These allegations — this conspiracy theory — is a lie. It is a complete falsehood. I have reviewed the press reporting related to this, the cipher in Pakistan, and the alleged leaked diplomatic cable from the embassy here.
“It is not accurate. At no point does it accuse the US government or me personally of taking steps against Imran Khan. And thirdly, the other person in the meeting, the then-ambassador of Pakistan to the US, has testified to his government that there was no conspiracy.”
Lu added that the allegations against him over the last two years had led to regular death threats against him and his family. “There is a line of acceptability and I think at times, some of the free speech has verged into threats of violence which is not acceptable in our society,” he added.
Meanwhile, another US lawmaker questioned Lu if the United States asked for Imran to be removed from power after he visited Russia to which Lu responded in the negative.
Lu was also asked about his alleged role in Pakistan’s “regime change” after the PTI government was ousted to which he replied: “I was not involved, nor were any Americans, in that process.”
Speaking about the February 8 general election in Pakistan, the Assistant Secretary of State called for an investigation into the electoral fraud claims, saying that the US is closely monitoring the probe into the rigging allegations.
He also mentioned “undue restrictions on freedom of expression, and peaceful assembly” during the February 8 polls.
“We condemn the electoral violence and restrictions on human and fundamental rights and restriction on internet services,” the US diplomat added.
Mr Lu said the US wanted the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold those involved in the election rigging accountable, saying they would encourage the Pakistani government and the poll authority to make the process transparent.
He said more than 5,000 independent election observers were in the field to monitor the elections in Pakistan. Their “organisations concluded that the conduct of the election was largely competitive and orderly while noting some irregularities in the completion of the results”.
