WEB DESK: The US State Department has announced the departure of Donald Lu, the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs, following the conclusion of his term earlier this month.
During his tenure, Lu became embroiled in a major controversy stemming from allegations by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who accused the US diplomat of playing a role in his removal from office.
Khan, ousted through a parliamentary vote of no confidence led by the now-ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and its political allies in April 2022, alleged that Lu was involved in orchestrating a “foreign conspiracy”.
The controversy first erupted on March 27, 2022, when Khan, less than a month before his removal, flashed a letter during a public rally, claiming it was a cipher from a foreign nation conspiring with his political rivals to overthrow the PTI-led government.
The cricketer-turned-politician did not disclose the contents of the letter or the name of the country involved. However, days later, he explicitly accused the United States of engineering his ouster by supporting the opposition’s no-confidence motion. The cipher in question was sent by Pakistan’s then-ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed.
