US sought to punish 'disobedient' Imran Khan: Russia

Russia has formally denounced the US interference in Pakistan politics, an allegation that was made by Imran Khan recently, calling it "another attempt of shameless US interference" to punish a "disobedient" Imran Khan.

In a statement, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Maria Zakharova noted that the US and its western allies began to exert pressure on Imran Khan as soon as his working visit to Moscow was announced.

"When he nevertheless came to us, [Lu] called the Pakistani ambassador in Washington and demanded that the visit be immediately interrupted, which was also rejected," she stated.

The Russian official said that further development of the situation left no doubt that the US "decided to punish the 'disobedient' Imran Khan", noting how lawmakers from within the PTI switched sides to the opposition while the no-confidence vote was submitted to Parliament, reports DAWN.

"The [Pakistan] prime minister himself has repeatedly stated that the conspiracy against him was inspired and financed from abroad. We hope that Pakistani voters will be informed about these circumstances when they come to the elections, which should be held within 90 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly," she said.

The statement from Russia's foreign ministry comes after PM Imran named US Assis­tant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia Donald Lu as the official who made "threatening remarks" about his regime in a letter, which the premier had brandished during a public rally in Islamabad last month.

Imran has alleged that the no-confidence motion against him is part of the "foreign conspiracy" to oust him from power.

However, the US State Department said claims of US involvement in the no-trust move against Imran Khan were just allegations without any truth. 

In a recent interview, US Assis¬tant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia Donald Lu, who was recently named by Imran Khan as being the official who was involved in the "foreign conspiracy" to overthrow his government, evaded the question when asked about the regime change in Pakistan.

Donald Lu avoided direct reply and said, "We are following developments in Pakistan, and we respect and support Pakistan's constitutional process and the rule of law."

When asked if he had such a conversation, the US official skipped the question again by saying, "That's all I have for you on that question."
On April 3, NA Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri had thrown out the no-trust motion against Imran, declaring that "circumstances show there is a nexus between the no-confidence motion, foreign intervention and the activities of the state's representatives deputed to Pakistan".

Imran had visited Moscow in February on a two-day trip that focused primarily on energy cooperation. However, his visit raised eyebrows as it coincided with Russia's military invasion of Ukraine.

At the time, the government said it had consulted all concerned quarters before going ahead with the trip, which had been scheduled months in advance.

During his trip, Imran had conveyed to Russian President Vladimir Putin that he regretted the situation developing between Russia and Ukraine, adding that Islamabad had hoped that military conflict could be averted through a diplomatic solution.

He had stressed that conflict was not in anyone's interest and that developing countries were always hardest hit economically in case of conflict. "He underlined Pakistan's belief that disputes should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy," said a communiqué issued after a meeting between the two leaders.