‘Lies, Lies’ chant breaks out during Donald Lu’s speech

WASHINGTON: US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu’s speech at US Congressional hearing was interrupted by chants of ‘lies, lies’ as he rejected PTI founder Imran Khan’s cipher allegations and termed it as a “conspiracy theory’, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

The deposed Pakistan prime minister publicly accused the US diplomat Donald Lu of delivering a warning to the then-Pakistani ambassador in Washington, Asad Majeed, suggesting that the removal of Imran Khan from office would help improve ties.

Khan and his PTI government were removed from power in April 2022 through a vote of no confidence, a first in Pakistan’s history.

Since then, the US has repeatedly denied Imran Khan’s allegation that it was involved in any conspiracy to remove him from PM office.

Today, Lu testified before a subcommittee of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, at a hearing titled ‘Pakistan After the Elections: Examining the Future of Democracy in Pakistan and the US-Pakistan Relationship’, where he was questioned about the allegations and his assessment of them.

“It is not accurate. At no point does it accuse the US government or me personally of taking steps against Imran Khan. And thirdly, the other person in the meeting, the then-ambassador of Pakistan to the US, has testified to his own government that there was no conspiracy.”

“We respect the sovereignty of Pakistan, we respect the principle that Pakistani people should be the only ones to choose their leader through democratic process,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, some of the attendants chanted ‘lies, lies’ during Donald Lu’s speech. As the protestors were drowned out and eventually escorted out from the hearing. The participants, while leaving the room, said: “You [Lu] are lying, shame on you.”