Imran Khan says US has “not played their role” as champion of democracy; appeals for help

Jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday, 25 February sought the help of the US with a special message to Washington that it should play a role and voice concern about his country's "rigged" general elections.

It was a purported diplomatic cable – the cipher – that Khan, 71, had waived at a public rally in March 2022 claiming that the US wanted to oust his government, soon after which his political stars took a downhill journey leading to incarceration, a conviction in multiple cases and even being disbarred from fighting the polls.

Khan, who became the prime minister in August 2018, was ousted through a vote of no-confidence in April 2022. Currently, he is lodged at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi facing conviction in multiple cases, including the cipher case.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party has alleged the February 8 general elections were “not fair” and the “results rigged.”

The results for the February 8 threw a fractured mandate with none of the parties getting a clear majority, as a result of which, Pakistan is yet to get a government a week after the voting day.

Even when more than 100 independents backed by Khan’s PTI won, the party has alleged that its mandate was stolen. If those troubles were any less, over the last three days, some of the independents have joined the coalition announced by PTI’s rival parties – the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party, and four other smaller parties.

After a meeting of party leaders at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where Khan has been lodged since September last year, PTI speaker Asad Qaiser told media persons that the party has nominated Umar Ayub Khan as the prime ministerial candidate.

However, it was a message that Khan gave to the US that was the highlight of the press conference.

“Khan has given a message that the US should raise its voice against the alleged rigging in elections. He also gave a special message with regard to America that the US had not played their role accordingly,” Qaiser said.

Claiming that Khan’s message is that “the US has an opportunity and should keep an eye on rigging in the elections,” the PTI functionary said, “If they are champions of democracy, then they should voice it if they think the elections in Pakistan were not fair.”

According to Geo News, PTI’s counsel Barrister Saif, who also addressed the media with Gohar Khan and Qaisar, said: “America should take a tougher stance over these elections.”

“When PTI was cornered in the elections, America should have raised its voice,” said Saif quoting the party founder.

Khan is accused of and convicted for “misusing the contents of the cipher” to build a narrative that his government was ousted due to a foreign conspiracy hatched by the US, a charge denied by Washington. The secret diplomatic cable (cipher) sent by the country’s embassy in Washington in March 2022 to the Foreign Office in Islamabad.

Meanwhile, the White House on Wednesday called for ensuring a transparent election process in Pakistan and said there is a need to respect the will of the Pakistani people.

Stating that US President Joe Biden “is aware of the elections in Pakistan,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters: “As we consistently convey clearly both publicly and privately to the Pakistani government and across the Pakistani political spectrum, the need to respect the will of the Pakistani people and ensure a transparent election process is critical and it is obviously important."