Imran Khan's party apologises to US over foreign conspiracy allegations: Pakistan Def Min

Imran Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) has apologised to the US for alleging that Washington had plotted the cricketer-turned-politician's ouster as Prime Minister. This revelation was made by Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif who appeared on the Pakistani local Geo News programme "Naya Pakistan". He also revealed that the Shehbaz Sharif-led government has procured evidence of PTI's apology to the United States' Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, whom Khan called out for the alleged foreign conspiracy.

"We (the coalition government) have obtained all records regarding PTI's apology to Lu. Evidence has been received regarding PTI leaders' meeting with the US government where they tendered an apology", Khwaja said. While the former Pakistan PM was on the brink of getting kicked out of power, he held on to the theory of conspiracy by the US government. He had even accused Lu of threatening Asad Majeed, Pakistan's ambassador to the US, with potential consequences if Khan manages to survive the no-confidence motion. 

This revelation by Khwaja comes just a few days ahead of the re-election in the Punjab province, where Khan's PTI is likely to get tough competition from the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N). Earlier on Sunday, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz Sharif said that he had "lost his sense" since his removal from power and predicted that "Punjab will wipe out Imran Khan's politics".

Imran Khan's hysteria and rants about India

While making serious accusations and jeopardising Pakistan's relations with the US, Khan had in the past claimed to be a victim of an assassination plot. Ahead of his ouster, he tried his best to remain seated on the PM's chair and on multiple occasions called on his supporters for protests that eventually turned violent. While targeting the US for a regime change in Pakistan during his tenure, he also ranted about Washington's close ties with India.

In his fresh attacks on July 2, Khan had alleged that the Joe Biden administration wanted military bases in Pakistan for "future operations in Afghanistan" and that denial of Washington's demand led to his ouster. He also poked the US to take action against India for the latter's increased imports of Russian oil.