US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu on Wednesday termed the allegations against him — which formed the crux of the ‘cablegate’ cipher controversy — by former prime minister Imran Khan as a “conspiracy theory, lie and complete falsehood”.
Lu is the diplomat whose supposed warning to former Pakistan Ambassador to the US Asad Majeed was the subject of a cipher sent by the envoy to Islamabad. It was the same document that the PTI founder used to allege a US conspiracy to oust his government in 2022. Imran is currently on trial for mishandling the same confidential document.
Testifying today before a subcommittee of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, at a hearing titled ‘Pakistan After the Elections: Examining the Future of Democracy in Pakistan and the US-Pakistan Relationship’, Lu was questioned about the allegations and his assessment of them.
In response, Lu said: “I want to be very clear on this point. These allegations — this conspiracy theory — is a lie. It is a complete falsehood. I have reviewed the press reporting related to this, what is called the cipher in Pakistan, the alleged leaked diplomatic cable from the embassy here.
“It is not accurate. At no point does it accuse the US government or me personally of taking steps against Imran Khan. And thirdly, the other person in the meeting, the then-ambassador of Pakistan to the US, has testified to his own government that there was no conspiracy.”
During Lu’s response, he was heckled by a person attending the proceedings who called him a “liar” while chants of “Free Imran Khan” were also heard.
Lu said that the US respected Pakistan’s sovereignty and the principle of the Pakistani nation choosing its own leaders through a democratic principle. The conclusion of his response was met by a loud commotion of hecklers against his remarks, who dubbed him a “liar”.
More to follow.
