The US announced on Wednesday that it would not allow ‘propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation’ to thwart its ‘valuable’ bilateral relationship with Pakistan.
In response to a question about Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan’s denial of US involvement in his ouster, Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel stated that the US valued its “longstanding cooperation with Pakistan and has always viewed a prosperous and democratic Pakistan as critical to US interests.”
He argued during the press conference that the US supported the “peaceful upholding of democratic, constitutional, and legal principles” rather than taking a position on one political candidate over another.
“In the end, we will not allow propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation to stymie any bilateral relationship, including our valued bilateral partnership with Pakistan,” he said.
He stated once more that the former premier’s accusations were unfounded and that he had nothing further to add.
The spokesperson declined to comment when asked about Imran’s remarks that his trip to Russia on the same day as the invasion of Ukraine was “embarrassing,” claiming that he had nothing else to say about the remarks made by the foreign minister or former prime minister Khan.
“I don’t have any specific meetings or calls to read out,” he said, in response to reports of a meeting between the US ambassador in Islamabad and PTI leadership.
The US values its “longstanding cooperation with Pakistan,” Patel emphasised, and sees “a prosperous and democratic Pakistan as critical to our interests not just in the region, but also in the world more generally.”
The remarks follow Imran Khan’s alleged U-turn on his “foreign conspiracy narrative,” in which he claimed that the US had engineered his demise by backing the opposition’s motion of no-confidence in April of this year.
Imran expressed a desire to work with Washington in an interview, saying he wants to mend relations with the US despite accusing it of treating Pakistan as a “slave.”
If re-elected, the former prime minister stated that he will no longer “blame” the United States and will seek a “dignified” relationship with it.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s over, it’s behind me,” he said of the alleged conspiracy, which was denied by both Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the US. He declared, “The Pakistan I want to lead must have good relations with everyone, particularly the United States.”
He also admitted that his trip to Moscow a day before the Ukraine invasion in February — for which he claims the US retaliated — was “embarrassing,” but said it was planned months.
