Why are Donald Trump’s allies cheering for Pakistan’s Imran Khan?

Islamabad, Pakistan – When Richard Grenell, a close confidante of Donald Trump, the incoming United States president, demanded the release of Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan last November during protests in Islamabad, the post went viral.

In another since-deleted tweet the same day, Grenell wrote, “Watch Pakistan. The people have been influenced by the US Red Wave, and their Trump-like leader is facing false charges. Stop the international political prosecutions”!

On December 16, the day after Trump nominates him as a presidential envoy for special missions, Grenell reiterated his demand for Khan’s release. Both tweets have received hundreds of thousands of views. This time, the post racked up more than 10 million views.

The message gained further momentum when Matt Gaetz, another Republican and a former Trump nominee for attorney general, also wrote, “Free Imran Khan”.

The posts on X (formerly known as Twitter) were seen as a significant boost for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which has been advocating for their leader’s release since August 2023.

However, many commentators expressed doubts about how much pressure is being put on Pakistan to release the former prime minister’s interest in Khan by Trump allies. And less than three years after it accused Washington of a role in Khan’s removal, some people pointed out a grave irony in the country’s most well-known political party, the PTI, which is trying to woo US support.

Complex relationship

After nearly four years in power, the Khan’s government was removed from power in April 2022 by a parliamentary no-confidence vote.

He alleged a US-led conspiracy, in collusion with Pakistan’s powerful military, as the cause of his removal, rallying his supporters to protest nationwide. These allegations have been vehemently refuted by both the US and Pakistani military.

Since then, Khan and his party have faced a wave of crackdowns. Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023 on dozens of charges and convictions. His party’s symbol – a cricket bat – was banned from Pakistan’s national election last February, forcing its candidates to contest as independents.

Relations between Pakistan and the US appear to have gotten a little better since Khan’s removal, with Donald Blome being named as the post’s replacement in May 2022. The post has been vacant since August 2018.

US officials have largely avoided commenting throughout the investigation into Khan and the PTI, citing Pakistan’s internal affairs. However, powerful Pakistani diaspora organizations in the US have actively campaigned among American politicians to bring about Khan’s recovery.

“The vocal advocacy of the Pakistani diaspora in the US, particularly around the release of Imran Khan, adds layers of complexity to this relationship”, Hassan Abbas, a professor at the National Defense University in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera.

In response to bipartisan requests for President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to watch Pakistan’s contentious elections in February 2024, their efforts led the US Congress to hold a hearing on the “future of democracy” in Pakistan in March of last year.

Months later, in October, more than 60 Democratic legislators urged Biden to leverage Washington’s influence over Islamabad to secure Khan’s release. Then, just days before the US election on&nbsp, November 5, Atif Khan, a senior PTI leader in the US, met Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump to discuss concerns about Khan’s incarceration.

A congressional hearing on the November protests in Islamabad, which included at least 12 PTI employees, is scheduled for January 22, two days after the new Trump administration takes office. The PTI blames the authorities for the casualties.

Islamabad has so far rejected Trump allies’ comments as having any relevance. Last month, the Pakistani foreign office said the country seeks relations based on “mutual respect, mutual interest, and noninterference in each other’s domestic affairs”.

“As for anyone making statements in their individual capacity, we would not like to comment on that”, said Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the foreign office spokesperson, during a media briefing.

Shehbaz Sharif, the spokesperson for Pakistan’s prime minister, claimed that the government views remarks made by people like Grenell and Gaetz as those of “private American citizens.”

The government does not respond to remarks made by individual citizens. Only if there is agitation at the government level will there be a need to issue a formal response, Afzal told Al Jazeera. “We look forward to working with the new administration,” Afzal said.

Khan as knight in shining armour?

Syed Mohammad Ali, a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute, described PTI supporters ‘ campaigning for US support as “kind of ironic”.

The PTI-supporting diaspora is now wooing the incoming US administration to play a stronger role in what is happening in Pakistani politics, Ali told Al Jazeera.

“But putting aside that irony, it does demonstrate that many foreign Pakistanis who live far away from home view Imran Khan as their shining armor.”

Trump later developed a relationship with Khan while serving as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, when he first criticized Pakistan for providing “nothing but lies and deceit.”

Trump called Khan his “very good friend,” and they first met in Washington in July 2019 and again in Davos in January 2020.

By contrast, relations between Khan and Biden were frosty. After assuming the presidency in November 2020, Khan frequently criticised Biden for not getting in touch with him.

Former Pakistani ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, acknowledged the Pakistani diaspora’s effectiveness in mobilising support. “They have persuaded individuals in both parties to call for Khan’s release”, he told Al Jazeera.

However, Haqqani, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, cautioned that Pakistan remains a low priority for Trump’s foreign policy.

PTI supporters should not assume that this is how they can gain influence over US officials. Apart from one or two statements, there’s no sign of a broader policy shift”, Haqqani said.

Ali, a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, emphasized the disconnect between US foreign policy and domestic politics.

“Perhaps the Trump administration will approach things more transactionally. Pakistan has benefitted in the past during Republican regimes, but currently, it isn’t a significant player in US plans”, he said.

Haqqani noted that US leverage often involves sanctions and economic pressures, but Pakistan, no longer a major aid recipient, offers limited options for influence.

Post-9/11, Pakistan was a significant recipient of US aid. But in recent years, aid has drastically reduced. Issues like Pakistan’s nuclear and missile programs, its relationship with China, and alleged support for militants are what concern the US”, he said.

Source: Aljazeera