Leaked 'Cypher' Shows Pak Ousted Ex-PM Imran Khan To Get US Favour

A leaked classified diplomatic document has once again put focus on Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan's allegations, suggesting a 'foreign conspiracy' in his ousting. The document in question-- known as a 'cypher' in Pakistan-- details a March 2022 conversation between the then-Pakistani ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed Khan, and US diplomat Donald Lu, which allegedly triggered the removal and eventual imprisonment of Khan.

US-based investigative outlet Drop Site, which published the original document, identified as cable I-0678, suggested that the State Department, under the Joe Biden administration, encouraged Islamabad, in a March 7, 2022, meeting, to remove Imran Khan as prime minister over his neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The reports suggest that Washington was also upset with Khan for not allowing US forces to use its bases against Afghanistan. 

Imran Khan's Ouster

The former Pakistani Prime Minister has repeatedly claimed that the United States has conspired with Pakistan's dynastic political parties -- Pakistan Muslim League-N and Pakistan Peoples Party -- to remove him because of his independent foreign policy and refusal to fully align with Washington against Russia and China. In an April 2022 statement, Khan said that America wants "me, personally, gone ... and everything would be forgiven".

He claimed that Washington opposed his relentless criticism of the US war on terror and his refusal to agree to allow Pakistan to be used for "over-the-horizon" US missions against terror targets in what is now a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

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

The claims were quickly denied by Washington, with the State Department spokesman at the time, 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," he said.

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"All Will Be Forgiven"

According to the Drop Site report, Asad Majeed Khan met Donald Lu on March 7, 2022. During the conversation, documented in the leaked cable, Lu told the Pakistani ambassador that Washington's grievances with Islamabad could be set aside and "all will be forgiven" if Khan was removed from office through a no-confidence vote.

Lu also added that he thought Imran Khan's "isolation will become very strong from Europe and the United States".

🚨BREAKING: For the first time, the original Pakistani cypher — cable I-0678, the document that triggered the removal of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan — is being released in full by Drop Site. https://t.co/nlX8uZCQRX pic.twitter.com/SYskivzAK9

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) May 17, 2026

Khan, 73, was removed on April 9, 2022, in a no-confidence vote backed by Pakistan's military. A year later, he and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were convicted of a series of corruption, contempt, and national security charges and have remained incarcerated. His party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was also subsequently outlawed and stripped of its electoral symbol ahead of the 2024 general election. PTI members who won seats as independents were denied certification.

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Questions On Khan's 'Neutrality'

For nearly two decades, US officials had been accusing Pakistan of sheltering the Taliban while accepting billions of dollars in American aid as a nominal ally. It has been viewed as a pariah state, especially after US Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in 2011 in Abbottabad, a garrison town home to Pakistan's military academy, a raid conducted without Islamabad's knowledge. 

In fact, during his first term in the Oval Office, Donald Trump denied Pakistan military aid, saying that it was not doing enough to combat terrorism. The succeeding Biden administration also kept its distance from Imran Khan.

The Islamabad-Washington ties further deteriorated after Imran Khan publicly rejected a US request for military bases after the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. The move reportedly frustrated Washington. At the same time, leaked documents reviewed by Drop Site News showed that Saudi Arabia was also pressing Pakistan for a mutual defence pact.

Khan also visited Moscow on the very day Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, despite Washington reportedly urging Islamabad to cancel the trip beforehand. Pakistan also abstained from a UN vote condemning Russia's invasion, further straining ties with Washington. 

In principle, Khan's government was drawing diplomatic red lines with both Washington and the Gulf Cooperation Council, but the Pakistani military concluded he was isolating the country.

This prompted Lu to express concerns about Pakistan's "aggressively neutral position" on Ukraine. 

"I think if the no-confidence vote against the Prime Minister succeeds, all will be forgiven in Washington because the Russia visit is being looked at as a decision by the Prime Minister. Otherwise, it will be tough going ahead," he reportedly told the then Pakistani envoy.

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The Army's Betrayal 

At the same time, leaked documents reviewed by Drop Site News showed that Saudi Arabia was also pressing Pakistan for a mutual defence pact, with Khan's government drawing another diplomatic red line with the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The Pakistani military viewed this as Khan isolating the country. In July 2021, the report said that without the prime minister's knowledge, the military quietly retained a former CIA Islamabad station chief as a lobbyist in Washington -- an early sign that Pakistan's generals were beginning to move independently of their own elected government.

After Khan's ouster, Pakistan's military-backed government reportedly shifted closer to US strategic priorities and started supplying artillery ammunition for the Ukraine war effort. The weapons shipments were reportedly moved through US contractors and third-party intermediaries.

Per the drop site report, the International Monetary Fund's bailouts to Pakistan were quietly tied to the continuation of military supplies linked to the Ukraine conflict. Pakistan also signed a Saudi defence pact that Khan's government had resisted.