‘PM Imran playing US card to build up his support base’ | The Express Tribune

Lisa Curtis, regional expert who served in the Bush and Trump presidencies and now is a senior fellow at the Centre for a New American Security, has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan is trying to play a “US card” to build up his support base.

“It’s highly unlikely that any US official would get involved in Pakistan’s internal politics. I think Imran Khan is trying to play the ‘US card’ to build up support from his base,” Curtis said in an interview with Voice of America Deewa.

Premier Imran, in his speech at a public rally last week, claimed that there was a “foreign-funded plot” being hatched to oust his government through a vote of no-confidence motion moved by the opposition parties.

Also read: ‘No evidence of foreign conspiracy against PM Imran found’

Subsequently, President Arif Alvi on Sunday dissolved the National Assembly on the advice of PM Imran, hours after National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri declared the opposition’s no-trust move “unconstitutional” and prorogued the house without voting on it.

Lisa Curtis was responding to a question regarding PM Imran’s allegations that the US was supporting opposition parties in Pakistan to topple his government.

“It’s highly highly unlikely that any US official would get involved in any way..US officials are very careful to stay out of the country’s internal politics so this is something that Imran Khan concocted to build up his support from his base,” she added.

She also said the Biden administration has been trying to work with Pakistan on various issues including Afghanistan but “there is absolutely no reason for the US to seek regime change in Pakistan”.

Also read: No evidence of foreign conspiracy against PM Imran found: sources

The US, she said, is not concerned about the change in the civilian set-up in Pakistan as “any change in the civilian political system really has a very marginal effect on the issues that the US cares most about”.

“Relations with India, China and Pakistan’s nuclear programme are the matters that fall within the purview of the establishment,” she added.

“The US government wants good relations with whatever government is in Pakistan… the political situation of Pakistan has nothing to with the US.”

Commenting on Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s recent statement wherein he stressed the need for better ties with the US and reiterated that Pakistan does not believe in camp politics, she said that Pakistan’s military was trying to protect bilateral ties from Pakistan’s political crisis.

Curtis went on to say that PM Imran’s narrative could whip up anti-American sentiments in Pakistan. “Imran Khan is trying to drag the US into [internal politics] and get them [supporters] interested in backing him by raising this conspiracy theory that the US seeking regime change in Pakistan,” she added.