Daily Times

There is so much uproar in the ongoing “political circus” of Pakistan that the United States is behind the conspiracy to remove the elected government of Pakistan Tehreeke Insaf (PTI) but many political and diplomatic pundits believe that the real truth is bigger than that.

In the current situation, I tried to connect with my sources and top minds in Washington D.C and after lengthy discussions, it was revealed that PM Khan got lucky to find a “scapegoat” for his failed policies and outgoing Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan provided him with that opportunity.

In this article, I am sharing the comments and analysis of top minds I talked to. At some point, I am agreeing while some do not. So, take it as fiction or reality. “Choice is yours”.

“It is no secret that the United States is annoyed at the timing of Mr Khan’s Russia visit while his pro-Taliban policies and outspoken speeches at international forums bring more trouble not only for him as the Prime Minister but Pakistan as a country. “And these were the points of discussions with the American administration for a long time”.

“I have no idea that what kind of language Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan used in his memo to the “Foreign Office”, but I do know that these are the regular diplomatic discussions between the reps of two countries”

The differences between Khan and the army have resulted in speculation about the future of the government.

Let’s do a little math. Since Imran Khan came into power he miserably failed to connect with the White House. He requested the White House for a telephonic conversation, no answer even after 17 months. Mr Khan was expecting that President Biden would call him during the pullout of American forces from Afghanistan but “no call”. At that time President Biden talked to the Indian Prime Minister and other heads of neighbouring countries but not Imran Khan. “I am not sure why POTUS (President of the United States) ignored PM Khan but whatever the reason, it was the highest level of embarrassment”, that made PM Khan annoyed with the Biden administration”.

“Rifts were already there between Civil and Military leadership over the range of relations with the United States. PM Khan wanted to deal with Americans on a level playing field while the Military sought good relations in diplomatic ways based on give and take but failed to convince PM Khan”. “Establishment also warned PM Khan on the timing of Russia visit but he ignored that warning”

“The situation already got worse in October last year with the naming of a new ISI Chief. The differences between Khan and the army over the appointment have resulted in speculation about the future of the government. “That was the time when the real game started.”

“Opposition parties who came with the “no confidence” motion against Imran Khan could have come up with this many many months ago but why now? “Because the timing is always decided by the architects.”

“Opposition parties were working on “no-confidence motion” for a long time while PM Khan rough dealing with the western countries provided opposition parties with another opportunity to get close to the Americans and Europeans. PPP and PML N leaders frequently paid visits to the United States and in their meetings, they talked about PM Khan’s pro-Taliban and pro-Mulla policies and obviously in those meetings ways to remove him from power were also the part of discussions.”

“Meetings of Pakistani politicians with American officials are not something to be worried about. It has been a common practice for a long time. Even when Imran Khan was in the opposition, he used to meet foreign diplomats on a regular basis, told them about his manifesto, it does not mean that he was a traitor.”

“Imran Khan’s government has miserably failed to bring any change in Pakistan while it also failed to maintain the good relations with the “Establishment” after the differences on ISI Chief appointment. PM Khan has nothing on his plate to defend his government, but he got lucky that Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan came as his saviour.”

“The memo, Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan sent to the Foreign Office about his meeting with Donald Lu has yet to be released in public but whatever the language used in it, trust me, it was not a threat”. It might be the new wish list of Americans as they used to share it with the countries they are engaged with, but Imran Khan got lucky as he needed a “scapegoat” and Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan was his man.

The writer is a Washington-based journalist and author. He has been covering international politics and foreign policy for the last 15 years. He can be reached at jahanzaibali1@gmail.com and tweets@JazzyARY.