Amid the constitutional crisis that Pakistan is facing at the moment, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday, 3 April, named Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu as the US diplomat allegedly involved in the "foreign conspiracy" to overthrow his government via a no-confidence vote.
"Ok I'm taking the name of US, the conspiracy has been hatched with the help of America to remove me," Khan had said before revealing the name.
He was speaking in Islamabad in a meeting of his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, after National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri rejected the motion for no-confidence, using national security as a justification.
A US State Department spokesperson told ANI, "there is no truth to these allegations. We are closely following developments in Pakistan. We respect and support Pakistan’s constitutional process and the rule of law."
Prime Minister Khan was "de-notified" as prime minister on Sunday, after the National Assembly was dissolved, which means that he will not have the powers to make decisions like an elected head of the government.
The crisis started in early March when around 100 lawmakers from Pakistan's opposition parties had submitted a no-confidence motion against the ruling government in the National Assembly Secretariat. To understand the crisis better, you can read Samarth Grover's explainer.
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