Pakistan Army Claims It Backed Imran Khan's Visit to Russia

The US has made several overtures to Pakistan after the ouster of ex-PM Imran Khan, who had been critical of Washington’s ‘War on Terror’. Secretary of State Blinken on Wednesday called Pakistan an “important partner”. The Pentagon, meanwhile, has said that it expects to continue its “healthy military-to-military relationship” with Islamabad.

Pakistani Army spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar on Thursday said that the country's armed forces fully supported former Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to Russia on 23-24 February, as the country's powerful armed forces sought to rebut claims that it had anything to do with the leader's ouster in a no-confidence vote last week.

Iftikhar said that the armed forces were asked for "institutional input" about Khan's trip to Moscow.

"We told the government that the PM should go ahead with the visit," Iftikhar, who heads the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said at a press briefing on Thursday. He was responding to a question from a journalist.

Iftikhar, however, added that it was "embarrassing" that Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine the same day when Khan was in Moscow.

Khan has claimed that his visit to Moscow raised hackles in the US and fuelled the decision to instigate a no-confidence motion against him, which ultimately led to his ouster on 9 April. Khan says that current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), was prodded by Washington to table the no-confidence vote in the National Assembly.

In response to another question, Iftikhar said that he wasn’t in favour of lending Pakistan’s military bases to the US.

In an interview to HBO Axios last June, Khan completely ruled out the prospect of hosting American personnel for counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan.

“If a demand like that would have been made, the army would have had the same stance as the PM,” the Pakistani armed forces spokesperson said at the briefing. "But the reality is that they never asked for bases," Iftikhar added, rebutting Khan’s claim.

During the briefing, Iftikhar also subtly rejected Khan’s claim that he was removed from power as part of a “foreign conspiracy” hatched by the US.

The army spokesperson referred to the statement of Pakistan's National Security Council (NSC) after its meeting on 31 March. Khan, then the PM, has claimed that he had convened the meeting to present “evidence” of a foreign conspiracy against him.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office said in a statement on the meeting that it had issued “requisite manoeuvres” of foreign governments through “diplomatic channels". America's top diplomat in Islamabad was summoned to register a protest the same day.

However, Iftikhar has claimed that the demarche to the US diplomat was issued because of the use of “undiplomatic language” and not over claims of “foreign interference”.

"The words used are in front of you… Is there any word such as conspiracy used in it? I think not,” he remarked, adding that the military would de-classify the minutes of the 31 March meeting if the government decided to do so.

While Khan has refused to reveal the specific details of the document, he has indicated on several occasions that the proof he holds is a cable from Pakistan.

Khan has claimed that US Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu summoned Asad Majeed, the Pakistani ambassador to Washington, on 7 March and warned of “consequences” if Khan survived the no-confidence motion. The motion was introduced in the National Assembly by Sharif the next day, on 8 March.

The Pakistan Army spokesperson also reiterated his rejection of the BBC news report that cited a meeting between Khan and two “uninvited guests” at the former PM’s residence on 9 April, hours before the ex-PM was removed in a no-confidence vote.

The report by BBC claimed that Khan had made up his mind to remove a senior military official, an apparent reference to Pakistan’s Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Bajwa.

“COAS is neither seeking extension nor will he accept it. He’ll be retiring on time on 22 November. This is character assassination (of Bajwa)," he stated.

Iftikhar further claimed that Pakistan’s Army was “apolitical” in nature and wouldn’t “interfere” in political matters.