US denies conspiring against Pakistan PM despite Khan's insistence

The United States denied that it encouraged a recent no-confidence vote against Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who alleged that Washington had conspired to topple his government over its independent foreign policy towards the US and Russia.

“Let me just say very bluntly there is absolutely no truth to these allegations. Of course, we continue to follow these developments, and we respect and support Pakistan’s constitutional process and rule of law. But again, these allegations are absolutely not true,” State Department deputy spokeswoman Jalina Porter said at a news conference on Friday.

Meanwhile, Russia has blasted "another attempt of shameless interference" by the United States in the internal affairs of Pakistan, saying that Washington sought to punish a "disobedient" Prime Minister Khan following his visit to Moscow on February 23-24.

The spokesperson for Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova said in a statement issued on Monday that the political development in Pakistan “leaves no doubt” that the United States plotted to topple the government of Khan.

Why the US attempted to topple Pakistan’s government

The US attempted to topple the government of Pakistani PM Imran Khan because “he would not allow US military bases there and because he will not toe the line on Russia."

The Russian foreign office condemned the United States over its involvement in an alleged conspiracy to overthrow the Pakistani government.

On Friday, Khan said he accepted a Supreme Court ruling that will likely see him ousted from office, but stated he was the victim of a "regime change" conspiracy involving the United States.

The National Assembly will sit Saturday to decide Khan's fate. He is almost certain to lose a no-confidence vote following the defection of a coalition partner and several of his own party members. The session was ordered by the Supreme Court on Thursday.

In a 40-minute address to the nation on Friday, Khan accused the opposition of buying support in the National Assembly with "open horse-trading... selling of lawmakers like goats and sheep".

He said they had conspired with the US to bring the no-confidence vote because of his opposition to US foreign policy.

Addressing a large rally in the capital Islamabad late last month, Prime Minister Khan accused an unnamed "foreign power" - in a clear reference to the United States - of funding a "conspiracy" to topple his democratically-elected government.

He said the "foreign power" sent millions of dollars to opposition parties to launch a no-confidence vote against him in the parliament.

Pakistan PM Imran Khan accuses US of funding ‘conspiracy’ to topple his government

Pakistan

Khan, who had formed a coalition government after winning the election in 2018, said he was the subject of a "foreign conspiracy" aimed at dislodging his government and that "funding was being channeled into Pakistan from abroad.”  

"We have been threatened in writing but we will not compromise on national interests," said Khan, who met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow on February 24, the same day the Russian leader ordered a military operation in neighboring Ukraine.  

Before that, Khan visited Beijing in January, defying US President Joe Biden's call for a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics. 

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