US again dismisses Imran Khan's assertions on secret threat letter; calls it 'propaganda'

The United States has continuously refuted Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s claims of involvement of foreign power in his ousting. On Wednesday, the US once again dismissed Khan’s assertions calling them 'propaganda, misinformation and lies'. As per the reports of Geo TV, during a regular press briefing on Wednesday morning, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price responded to a question about Khan continuing to blame the US for his removal from the prime ministership and spearheading an anti-American campaign, to which Price responded by saying that propaganda, allegations, misinformation and lies will not be allowed to impair bilateral relationships, including the one with Pakistan.

Imran Khan has frequently blamed the US government for his removal, claiming that US President Joe Biden's administration was behind the regime transition in Pakistan, and referring to the diplomatic cable as a "threat letter" to back up his claims. Khan was deposed in early April following a no-confidence vote, and Shehbaz Sharif was sworn in as Pakistan's new Prime Minister. The former Prime Minister suggests that a "threat letter" was delivered from the US administration to the Pakistani government warning Pakistan of severe consequences if he was not removed through a no-confidence motion.

In the meanwhile, just last week, Imran Khan stated that following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August last year, he would "never have agreed" to any US demands for military sites in Pakistan, claiming that the US-led war on terror has already claimed the lives of 80,000 Pakistanis.

Ned Price talks about Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's conversation with Antony Blinken

On Friday, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had a conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who congratulated Zardari for becoming Pakistan's new Foreign Minister. Talking about their conversation, Ned Price stated that they had the chance to reflect on the 75th anniversary of US-Pakistan ties and discuss how they can continue to deepen their collaboration. During the chat, the two leaders also discussed ways to strengthen Pakistan's and the United States' mutually beneficial and broad-based partnership.

Price further stated that they also discussed continuous engagement in terms of their economic ties, trade and investment, climate, energy, health and education, adding that the conversation was wide-ranging. The State Department Spokesperson continued by stating that Bilawal and his US counterpart talked about the situation in Afghanistan and that the US Secretary emphasized the United States and Pakistan's unwavering commitment to Afghan stability and counter-terrorism.

Image: AP