Biden Admin Secretly Encouraged Overthrow of Leader Who Wasn’t Pro-Ukraine Enough, Leaked Cable Reveals

President Joe Biden’s administration’s diplomats encouraged Pakistani political leaders to remove former Prime Minister Imran Khan from office after he hesitated to criticize Russia for its war against Ukraine, according to a new report on Wednesday.

Imran Khan was removed from office in April 2022 after a controversial vote of no-confidence by the Pakistani National Assembly. On March 7, 2022, officials from the Department of State met with Pakistan’s then-Ambassador to the United States Asad Majeed Khan and encouraged Imran Khan’s removal from office after he visited Russia shortly after it began hostilities in Ukraine, according to a diplomatic cable that was published by The Intercept.

“I think if the no-confidence vote against the Prime Minister succeeds, all will be forgiven in Washington,” said Donald Lu, the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, according to the cable. “[T]he Russia visit is being looked at as a decision by the Prime Minister.”

Lu claimed that Imran Khan’s visit had damaged the Pakistan-U.S. bilateral relationship and that, absent Khan’s ouster, relations “will be tough going ahead,” the cable shows.