WASHINGTON: Following the National Security Committee’s (NSC) statement that rejected the allegations of former Prime Minister Imran Khan about a Washington-funded conspiracy to topple his government, the US welcomed the stance taken by the top Pakistani body.
US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Jalina Porter said in a press briefing that the United States welcomed the statement issued by the Pakistani National Security Committee (NSC) that rejected the claim of a ‘foreign conspiracy’ to topple former premier Imran Khan’s government.
“I would also like to underscore that the United States values our longstanding cooperation with Pakistan and has always viewed a strong, prosperous and democratic Pakistan as critical to US interests,” the senior official further said.
On Friday, the NSC had concluded that no evidence of a “foreign conspiracy” to topple Imran Khan’s government had been found. However, it endorsed the decisions taken in its previous meeting.
In its last session, chaired by Imran Khan, the high-powered forum on March 31 had denounced as “unacceptable under any circumstances” what it called “blatant interference” in Pakistan’s internal affairs by an unnamed country. It had also decided that Pakistan would issue a strong demarche to the country in question which was followed through.
Friday’s meeting of the NSC – which was chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif – concluded that based on the input of security agencies as well as the former Pakistan ambassador to the US, no evidence of a foreign conspiracy had been found.
A statement issued by the PM Office said the NSC discussed a telegram received from Pakistan Embassy in Washington. The former Pakistan envoy to the US briefed the committee on the context and content of his telegram. The NSC, after examining the content of the communication, reaffirmed the decisions of its previous meeting.
