All will be forgiven if Khan is removed through parliamentary vote
The cable records a meeting between Pakistan's ambassador and US official Donald Lu suggesting improved ties if Khan were removed through parliamentary vote. Khan had resisted US military base requests and visited Moscow during Ukraine invasion, reportedly frustrating Washington and prompting his ouster in April 2022.
- Cable I-0678 records meeting between Pakistan's ambassador and US official Donald Lu in early 2022
- Imran Khan lost no-confidence vote in April 2022, first Pakistani PM removed through this process
- Khan convicted in corruption case and imprisoned; remains incarcerated as of 2026
- Pakistan's military subsequently supplied Ukraine with artillery ammunition and shifted policy toward US priorities
- Army chief Asim Munir promoted to Field Marshal and became de facto liaison with Washington
A leaked Pakistani diplomatic cable published by Drop Site News supports former PM Imran Khan's allegations of US-backed regime change, documenting a State Department official's suggestion that Khan's removal would improve Pakistan-US relations.
In May 2026, an investigative outlet called Drop Site published a classified Pakistani diplomatic cable that had been gathering dust in archives for four years—and with its release, the political ghosts of 2022 came roaring back to life. The document, formally identified as cable I-0678, recorded a conversation between Pakistan's ambassador to Washington and a senior US State Department official named Donald Lu. The meeting took place in the weeks before Imran Khan, the cricketer-turned-prime minister, lost a no-confidence vote in April 2022. For years, Khan had insisted that the United States orchestrated his removal because he refused to bend Pakistan's foreign policy to American will. He had visited Moscow on the day Russia invaded Ukraine, defied requests for military bases, and kept his distance from Washington's strategic priorities. The US had always denied involvement, calling Khan's allegations baseless and noting he had never produced hard evidence. Now, with the cable in public view, that denial looked considerably weaker.
The phrase that would define the entire controversy appeared in the diplomatic record: "all will be forgiven." According to the cable, Donald Lu used those words to signal that if Khan were removed through a parliamentary vote, Pakistan could expect warmer relations with the United States. The implication was stark. Lu also reportedly warned that if Khan survived the no-confidence challenge, Pakistan would face isolation from both Washington and Europe. For Khan's supporters and his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the cable amounted to a confession. It vindicated everything they had claimed about foreign interference in their country's internal affairs.
The broader context made the cable's contents even more damaging to Washington's credibility. The Biden administration had kept its distance from Khan since taking office in 2021, viewing him as an obstacle to American interests. Khan's refusal to grant military bases after the Taliban's return to Afghanistan had frustrated US officials. His Moscow visit during the Ukraine invasion, made despite reported American pressure to cancel it, had been seen as a deliberate snub. Pakistan's subsequent abstention from a UN vote condemning Russia's invasion had further strained ties. By early 2022, it had become clear to Washington that Khan had to go.
But the cable revealed something else: Pakistan's military establishment had been working with the Americans separately from Khan's government all along. According to Drop Site's reporting, the Pakistani military had hired a former CIA-linked lobbyist in Washington in 2021, even as Khan occupied the prime minister's office. The military was hedging its bets, building its own relationship with the US while Khan pursued an independent course. When the no-confidence vote succeeded in April 2022—the first time a Pakistani prime minister had been removed through such a constitutional process—the military's separate channel with Washington proved invaluable.
What happened next suggested a coordinated shift in policy. After Khan's ouster, Pakistan's military-backed government moved swiftly to align with American strategic priorities. Islamabad began secretly supplying artillery ammunition for the Ukraine war effort, routing the weapons through US contractors and intermediaries. The International Monetary Fund's bailout packages for Pakistan, according to the report, came with quiet conditions tied to the continuation of these military supplies. Pakistan signed a Saudi defense pact that Khan's government had resisted. The country pursued rare earth and cryptocurrency partnerships linked to Trump-era business networks. The military even slowed the expansion of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, cooling relations with Beijing to reassure Washington.
The architect of this realignment was Asim Munir, Pakistan's army chief. After Khan's removal, Munir promoted himself to Field Marshal and became Islamabad's de facto liaison with Washington. He consolidated power and positioned himself as the point man for Pakistan's strategic relationship with the United States. The speed and scope of the policy reversals suggested not improvisation but execution of a plan that had been discussed in advance—perhaps in meetings like the one recorded in cable I-0678.
Meanwhile, Khan himself had paid a steep price. A year after his ouster, he was convicted in a corruption case and imprisoned. He remained incarcerated as of 2026, his political career effectively ended. His party maintained that the charges were politically motivated, part of the same foreign-backed operation that had removed him from office. The timing of the cable's release added another layer of irony: Pakistan's military leadership was now positioning the country as a mediator in negotiations to end the US-Iran war, seeking to remain strategically valuable to Washington. The very power structure that had allegedly conspired with the US to remove Khan was now reaping the benefits of that conspiracy, while Khan sat in a cell.
Notable Quotes
Pakistan could face isolation from both the US and Europe if Khan survived the no-confidence challenge— US State Department official Donald Lu, according to the cable
There was no truth to Khan's claims of foreign involvement in his ouster— US government denial (historical position)
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does a four-year-old cable matter now, in 2026? What changed?
The cable was always there. What changed is that someone leaked it to journalists who had the resources and credibility to publish it. For Khan's supporters, it's proof they were right all along. For Pakistan's government, it's a problem because it shows the military was working with Washington behind Khan's back.
But the US has always denied involvement. Does one cable really prove they orchestrated the ouster?
It doesn't prove orchestration in the sense of direct orders. What it shows is that a senior US official told Pakistan's ambassador that removing Khan would improve relations. That's not a denial of involvement—that's an acknowledgment of preference. The question is whether Pakistan's military acted because of that preference or because they had their own reasons.
The military hired a CIA-linked lobbyist in 2021. That seems like preparation.
It does. It suggests the military was building a separate relationship with Washington while Khan was still prime minister. They were positioning themselves as an alternative partner to the US, which is a form of hedging. When the no-confidence vote came, they already had that channel open.
What about the phrase "all will be forgiven"? That's pretty explicit.
It is. It's a promise that if Khan goes, the relationship resets. Pakistan gets closer to the US, gets aid, gets legitimacy. The alternative—isolation from Washington and Europe—is presented as the cost of keeping Khan. For a country that depends on US military aid and IMF bailouts, that's not a subtle threat.
Did the military actually need American pressure to remove Khan, or would they have done it anyway?
That's the question no one can answer with certainty. Khan had made enemies domestically—he was unpopular with the dynastic parties, and his economic policies were failing. But the timing and the speed of the shift toward the US afterward suggests the military saw an opportunity to align with Washington while removing a leader they viewed as unreliable.
And Khan is still in prison?
Yes. Convicted on corruption charges a year after his ouster. His supporters say the charges are political, part of the same operation. Whether that's true or whether he actually committed the crimes is another question the cable doesn't answer. But the optics are clear: the man who resisted the US is gone, and the man who cooperates with the US is in power.