India, May 18 -- A new controversy has broken out in Pakistan after an alleged leak of a classified diplomatic cable, or "cypher," brought claims back to light that the United States may have been behind the removal of former Prime Minister Imran Khan from office in 2022. The cable, published first by US-based investigative news organisation Drop Site News, relays a conversation that took place on March 7, 2022 between Pakistan's then ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed Khan, and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's assistant, Donald Lu.

The revelations have reopened an old debate over whether foreign pressure and the country's military establishment worked in tandem to oust Khan. The question of foreign conspiracy has been brewing afte...