WASHINGTON – Just days after formation of a new government in Pakistan, the US House Foreign Affairs Committee has tasked its Subcommittee on the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia with conducting a hearing on the future of democracy in Pakistan.
The hearing, which will be conducted on March 20, will also analyse the dynamics of US-Pakistan relations after the February 8 general elections in the South Asian country.
Donald Lu, the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, will be the sole witness for the hearing and his alleged involvement in the regime change operation in Pakistan adds significance to his testimony.
Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan and his party alleged that Lu threatened to destabilise the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led government during a March 2022 meeting with the then Pakistani ambassador in Washington, Asad Majeed Khan.
Khan’s allegations were frequently brought up at US State Department news briefings by journalists from both Pakistan and the United States, but the State Department always dismissed these allegations as unfounded.
The move to have Lu attend the hearing underscores the department’s desire to resolve the controversy by providing clarification on its stance.
The PTI’s US chapter said in a statement from Houston, Texas, that “persistent efforts” by Pakistani Americans led to a Congressional hearing on the allegations levelled by Khan and his party.
Both Democratic and Republican legislators are expected to attend this bipartisan hearing in good numbers.
