Russia has abused” another attempt of shameless hindrance “by the United States in the internal affairs of Pakistan, adding that it sought to discipline a” defiant “Imran Khan.
In a statement, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Russia had noted that President Dr. Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on April 3 on the high minister’s advice as well as the events antedating it.
” Incontinently after the advertisement of the working visit of Imran Khan to Moscow on February 23-24 this time, the Americans and their Western associates began to ply rude pressure on the high minister, demanding a claim to cancel the trip,” she said.
“When he nonetheless came to us, (Lu) called the Pakistani minister in Washington and demanded that the visit be incontinently intruded, which was also rejected,” she stated.
” According to the Pakistani media, on March 7 this time, in a discussion with Pakistani Ambassador Asad Majid, a high-ranking American functionary ( presumably the same Donald Lu) sprucely condemned the balanced response of the Pakistani leadership to the events in Ukraine and made it clear that hookups with the United States are possible only if Imran Khan is removed from power,” Zakharova said.
The Russian functionary said that further development of the situation left no mistrustfulness that the US” decided to discipline the’ defiant ‘Imran Khan”, noting how lawgivers from within the PTI switched sides to the opposition while the no-confidence vote was submitted to Parliament.
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“This is another attempt of shameless US hindrance in the internal affairs of an independent state for its own selfish purposes. The below data eloquently swear to this,” Zakharova said.
“The (Pakistan) high minister himself has constantly stated that the conspiracy against him was inspired and financed from abroad. We hope that Pakistani choosers will be informed about these circumstances when they come to the choices, which should be held within 90 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly,” she said.
The statement from Russia’s foreign ministry comes after PM Imran named US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia Donald Lu as the functionary who made” hanging reflections” about his governance in a letter, which the premier had brandished during a public rally in Islamabad last month.
Last month, the National Security Committee, which includes all services chiefs, had decided to issue a” strong demarche” over the letter, nominating it a” blatant hindrance in the internal affairs of Pakistan”.
Imran has contended that the no-confidence stir against him is part of the” foreign conspiracy” to oust him from power.
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Still, the US State Department said claims of US involvement in the no-trust move against Imran Khan were just allegations without any verity. In a recent interview, Donald Lu, the US diplomat who allegedly made trouble to Pakistan’s minister, finessed the question when asked about the governance change in Pakistan.
During the interview, on a question about his discussion with Pakistan’s minister in Washington, the canvasser asked “ Imran Khan seems to suggest that you had a discussion with the Pakistani minister in the US and told him that if Imran Khan survives the no-confidence stir, Pakistan is in trouble and the US habit forgive Pakistan. Any response?”
Donald Lu avoided direct reply and said “ We’re following developments in Pakistan, and we admire and support Pakistan’s indigenous process and the rule of law.”
Asked whether he’d had such a discussion, the US functionary skipped the question again, simply saying “ That’s all I’ve for you on that question.”
On April 3, NA Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri had thrown out the no-trust stir against Imran, declaring that “ circumstances show there’s a nexus between the no-confidence stir, foreign intervention and the conditioning of the state’s representatives deputized to Pakistan”.
Imran had visited Moscow in February on a two-day trip which concentrated primarily on energy cooperation. Still, his visit raised eyebrows as it coincided with Russia’s military rush toward Ukraine.
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At the time, the government said it had consulted all concerned diggings before going ahead with the trip, which had been listed months in advance.
During his trip, Imran had conveyed to Russian President Vladimir Putin that he rued the situation developing between Russia and Ukraine, adding that Islamabad had hoped that military conflict could be prevented through a political result.
He’d stressed that conflict wasn’t in anyone’s interest and that developing countries were always hardest hit economically in case of conflict. “ He underscored Pakistan’s belief that controversies should be resolved through dialogue and tactfulness,” said a communiqué issued after a meeting between the two leaders.
