Classified Cable Reveals Pakistan's Role in US-Iran Diplomacy and Foreign Interference

That classified diplomatic cable about former Prime Minister Imran Khan—the one about foreign interference in his removal—it’s finally out. It’s the first time we’re seeing the whole thing. And it shifts the focus, doesn't it? To Pakistan’s actual role in that messy behind-the-scenes diplomacy between the US and Iran.

The document itself, a cypher, it was published by Drop Site News. They called it cable I-0678. It details a meeting that happened on March 7, 2022. It involved Pakistan’s envoy to Washington, Asad Majeed Khan, and Donald Lu, who was the US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs. This happened weeks before Khan was kicked out by a no-confidence vote in Parliament.

What they were discussing, apparently, was a deal.

Lu allegedly told the Pakistani ambassador that things between Islamabad and Washington could actually get better if that no-confidence vote against Khan went through.

“I think if the no confidence vote against the Prime Minister succeeds, all will be forgiven in Washington,” Lu said in the cable.

Then the warning hit. It was pretty stark. It said that if things didn't work out, if Khan survived, Pakistan risked total "isolation" from the United States and Europe.

That’s the core tension, isn't it? Khan and his party, PTI, have been screaming about foreign pressure, about the military establishment pushing him out. But Washington and the military just shut that down. They insist there was "no truth" to Khan’s claims. No proof of foreign involvement.

How did those ties actually get worse? Drop Site traced it back to a bunch of sticking points before he was removed.

Afghanistan was a huge one. That was one of the biggest disaGreements.

Remember when the CIA Director, William Burns, went to Islamabad in June 2021? He was looking for Pakistani cooperation for counterterrorism work after the US pulled out. He wanted access. He wanted permission for drone operations targeting Afghanistan, using Pakistani territory.

But Burns didn't get it. He failed to secure the cooperation Washington needed.

Khan himself later threw that out. He absolutely refused to let any US military bases be set up on Pakistani soil. He was clear. “Absolutely not. No way we allow any action from Pakistani territory into Afghanistan. Absolutely not,” he told Axios back in 2021.

Things got even more volatile after Khan traveled to Moscow in February 2022. He met with Vladimir Putin. The very same day Russia invaded Ukraine. Photos of Khan and Putin shaking hands spread everywhere as the war started.

The cable showed Washington saw this trip very seriously. Lu allegedly told the ambassador that the Moscow visit had already "created a dent in the relationship" between the two countries.

The envoy pushed back, naturally. He argued that the trip was part of an institutional foreign policy process. Not just some impulsive decision by Khan.

Later, when Khan was removed, it was April 9, 2022. The first time a Pakistani Prime Minister was ousted that way.

Khan immediately flipped the script. He accused the US of working behind the scenes. He blamed Washington for trying to remove him because he had an independent foreign policy. He pointed fingers at the mainstream parties, PML-N and PPP, saying they were collaborating with foreign powers. Those parties just denied it. They said it was all constitutional.

After the ouster, things got heavy. Khan was jailed in corruption and national security cases. PTI keeps saying it was all political maneuvering.

And Pakistan’s military-backed government? They tried to fix things with Washington. But there’s another layer there. Drop Site reported that Pakistan ended up quietly supplying artillery shells and other military gear to Ukraine through middlemen during the war.

And that’s tied back to the IMF. Support for Pakistan’s IMF program seemed linked to keeping that weapons pipeline open. That continued even before the IMF approved that big $3 billion standby arrangement in July 2023.

So why is this old cable resurfacing now?

It’s because the military establishment is trying to paint Islamabad as some kind of go-between. An intermediary in these indirect US-Iran talks. There’s rising regional tension everywhere.

They recently pushed claims that Pakistan could help set up another round of talks involving Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and American officials. The ISPR, the military media arm, started circulating messages. They suggested another round of “Islamabad peace talks” between the US and Iran was coming.

But that story started falling apart. It unravelled when it became obvious Araghchi wasn't actually heading to Pakistan to reopen negotiations with Washington.

Iranian security spokesperson Ebrahim Rezaei stepped in. He questioned Pakistan’s credibility as a mediator. He said it wasn't suitable. It lacked the necessary credibility for mediation. He stressed that a mediator has to be impartial. Not leaning to one side.