US punished Imran Khan for not canceling visit to country, Russian foreign ministry

Russian foreign ministry has spoken for the first time since Prime Minister Imran Khan accused the USA of backing a no-confidence motion against the prime minister and said that all the developments before and after Pakistan PM’s Russia visit point to the fact that the United States decided to “punish disobedient” Imran Khan for not canceling his February visit to the country.

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According to BBC, the Russian foreign ministry, in a statement, said that when PM Imran Khan was about to visit Moscow in Feb 2022, the US and its allies were pressuring the Pakistan PM to cancel the visit ahead of Ukraine war.

The statement further says that the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs summoned Pakistan Ambassador to US Asad Majeed Khan and pressured him to cancel the visit but the pressure was rejected and Imran Khan continued with his plans.

“Suddenly, a number of Pakistan PM’s MNAs joined the opposition and a no-confidence motion was filed against him,” reads the statement according to the media house.

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The Russian foreign ministry referred to reports in Pakistani media about the threat memo and said that this proves that the US made a “shameful” attempt to interfere in Pakistan’s internal affairs to punish “disobedient” Imran Khan.