Pakistan: After Accusing US Of 'Coup' Against Him, Imran Khan Now Wants Biden Administration's Support On Demand For Free And Fair Election

Pakistan's ex-prime minister, Imran Khan, is asking for support from the Joe Biden administration on free and fair elections in Pakistan, after accusing the US administration of engineering a coup against him.

According to a report by Dawn, the former prime minister has spoken to four US lawmakers in less than a month, asking them to support his demand of free and fair elections in Pakistan.

All four lawmakers — Ted Lieu, Eric Swalwell, Brad Sherman and Mike Levin are Democrats, indicating that Khan wants to improve his relations with the current US administration.

Moreover, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) — Imran Khan's political party — US chapter has also hired two lobbyists to improve relations with the US administration.

One such lobbyist is Dr Asif Mahmood, a Pakistani-American physician who has close relations with Congressman Brad Sherman. Dr Mahmood played a crucial role in arranging a phone call between the former prime minister and Congressman Sherman.

“We will continue our efforts until free and fair elections happen and power is transferred to those elected by people,” Dr Asif Mahmood replied when asked about his role in winning over Americans.

Dr Mahmood also arranged a visit of a delegation of lawmakers from California to Pakistan, where reportedly they also met Imran Khan.

According to the report, this outreach is important to convince the US administration that Imran Khan returning to power will be good for US-Pakistan relations and Khan will further work towards improving them.

Earlier last year (April 2022), before Khan was removed from power, the former prime minister accused the Biden administration of conspiring with Pakistan's opposition parties to remove him from power.

Imran Khan then, in a speech angrily said, "Washington had conspired with the Pakistani opposition against me and that America wants "me, personally, gone... and everything would be forgiven."

"They say that our anger will vanish if Imran Khan loses this no-confidence vote".

The US administration has, however, denied the allegations, with the State Department spokesperson Ned Price saying there was "no truth" to the allegations.

"We are closely following developments in Pakistan. We respect (and) we support Pakistan's constitutional process and the rule of law," Price had then said.