To “punish recalcitrant” Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan for not cancelling his February trip to Russia, Russia has accused the United States of intervening in Pakistan’s internal affairs.
Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, offered these observations about the political situation in Pakistan in a statement released on Monday. In addition, it was posted on Facebook.
Alvi dissolved Pakistan’s National Assembly on Sunday, following Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri’s denial of the opposition’s no-confidence resolution and his characterisation of it as a violation of Pakistan’s Constitution.
With that said, an opposition coalition took it to court and asked for a vote of disapproval. On top of that, Prime Minister Imran Khan called for early elections and recommended two candidates for an interim administration.
As the Russian foreign ministry noted, “the following events were preceding this.”
“Imran Khan’s travel to Moscow on February 23-24 this year was reported immediately following the announcement. The United States and its Western allies pressured the prime minister, demanding an ultimatum to cancel the trip. The US Deputy Secretary of US for South Asia D Liu called the Pakistani embassy in Washington and urged that the visit be promptly interrupted, which was also rebuffed,” it stated.
A senior American official (likely the same D Liu) “sharply condemned” the Pakistani leadership’s measured response to events in Ukraine, according to Zakharova, citing Pakistani media. The official clarified that partnerships with the US “are possible only if [PM] Imran is removed from power,” according to Zakharova.
Qureshi confirmed the US had conveyed their views to Pakistan before the PM’s visit to Russia and especially when Russia was launching an attack on Ukraine. A representative for the US State Department said on February 23 that the US had communicated its views on Russia’s “renewed invasion of Ukraine” to Pakistan.
Zakharova said that the current state of affairs proves that the United States has punished Imran Khan for his ‘disobedient’ behaviour: a group of parliamentarians from the Prime Ministers’ party suddenly defected to the opposition and a vote of no confidence in the government’s leadership was immediately submitted to parliament, with a vote scheduled for April 3rd.
She called it yet another example of the United States’ “shameless” meddling in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state for its own ends. “All the foregoing evidence clearly shows this.”
Iranian Prime Minister Hassan Rouhani has often claimed that the plot against him is “inspired and funded from abroad,” and the spokesperson alluded to this in his statement.
“There should be elections within 90 days of the National Assembly being dissolved, and we hope that Pakistani citizens are aware of these circumstances,” Zakharova stated.
