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

Islamabad, Pakistan – When Richard Grenell, a adjacent confidante of Donald Trump, the incoming United States president, demanded the merchandise of Pakistan’s jailed erstwhile Prime Minister Imran Khan past November during protests successful Islamabad, the station went viral.

In different since-deleted tweet the aforesaid day, Grenell wrote, “Watch Pakistan. Their Trump-like person is successful situation connected phony charges, and the radical person been inspired by the US Red Wave. Stop the governmental prosecutions astir the world!”

With some tweets garnering hundreds of thousands of views, connected December 16, a time aft Trump nominated him arsenic a statesmanlike envoy for peculiar missions, Grenell repeated his request for Khan’s release. This time, the station racked up much than 10 cardinal views.

The connection gained further momentum erstwhile Matt Gaetz, different Republican and a erstwhile Trump nominee for lawyer general, besides wrote, “Free Imran Khan”.

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

But galore commentators said they were sceptical astir this involvement successful Khan shown by Trump allies translating into meaningful unit connected Pakistan to merchandise the ex-premier. And immoderate pointed retired a heavy irony successful the PTI, the country’s astir fashionable governmental party, trying to lobby the US for assistance – little than 3 years aft it accused Washington of a relation successful Khan’s removal.

Complex relationship

Khan’s authorities was removed from bureau successful April 2022 done a parliamentary no-confidence ballot aft astir 4 years successful power.

He alleged a US-led conspiracy, successful collusion with Pakistan’s almighty military, arsenic the origin of his removal, rallying his supporters to protestation nationwide. Both the US and the Pakistani subject person powerfully denied these allegations.

Since then, Khan and his enactment person faced a question of crackdowns. Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023 connected dozens of charges and convictions. His party’s awesome – a cricket bat – was banned from Pakistan’s nationalist predetermination past February, forcing its candidates to contention arsenic independents.

Meanwhile, since Khan’s removal, relations betwixt Pakistan and the US look to person marginally improved, with the Biden medication appointing Donald Blome arsenic US ambassador to Pakistan successful May 2022, aft the station was vacant since August 2018.

Throughout the crackdown connected Khan and the PTI, US officials person mostly refrained from commenting, calling it an interior substance for Pakistan. However, influential Pakistani diaspora groups successful the US, the bulk of whom enactment Khan and the PTI, person campaigned extensively among American politicians to question alleviation for Khan.

“The vocal advocacy of the Pakistani diaspora successful the US, peculiarly astir the merchandise of Imran Khan, adds layers of complexity to this relationship,” Hassan Abbas, a prof astatine the National Defense University successful Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera.

Their efforts led the US Congress to hold a hearing connected the “future of democracy” successful Pakistan successful March past year, prompted by bipartisan calls for President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to scrutinise Pakistan’s arguable elections successful February 2024.

Months later, successful October, much than 60 Democratic legislators urged Biden to leverage Washington’s power implicit Islamabad to unafraid Khan’s release. Then, conscionable days earlier the US predetermination on November 5, Atif Khan, a elder PTI person successful the US, met Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump to sermon concerns astir Khan’s incarceration.

On January 22, 2 days aft the caller Trump medication takes office, different legislature proceeding is expected connected Capitol Hill regarding the November protests successful Islamabad, during which astatine slightest 12 PTI workers died. The PTI blames the authorities for the casualties.

So far, Islamabad has dismissed the value of the comments coming from Trump allies. Last month, the Pakistani overseas bureau said the state seeks relations based connected “mutual respect, communal interest, and noninterference successful each other’s home affairs.”

“As for anyone making statements successful their idiosyncratic capacity, we would not similar to remark connected that,” said Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the overseas bureau spokesperson, during a media briefing.

Rana Ihsaan Afzal, spokesperson for Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, said the authorities views remarks from individuals similar Grenell oregon Gaetz arsenic opinions of “private American citizens.”

“Government does not respond to idiosyncratic citizens’ remarks. We look guardant to moving with the caller administration, and lone if determination is agitation astatine the authorities level volition determination beryllium a request to contented a ceremonial response,” Afzal told Al Jazeera.

Khan arsenic knight successful shining armour?

Syed Mohammad Ali, a non-resident student astatine the Middle East Institute, described PTI supporters’ campaigning for US enactment arsenic “kind of ironic”.

“From pushing the thought of US involution to topple the PTI government, the PTI-supporting diaspora is present wooing the incoming US medication to person a stronger relation successful what is happening successful Pakistani politics,” Ali told Al Jazeera.

“But leaving speech that irony, it does amusement that for overseas Pakistanis sitting acold from the country, galore of them spot Imran Khan arsenic their knight successful shining armour.”

Trump, who successful his archetypal word criticised Pakistan for providing “nothing but lies and deceit,” aboriginal developed a rapport with Khan during the latter’s premiership from 2018 to 2022.

The 2 archetypal met successful Washington successful July 2019 and again successful Davos successful January 2020, wherever Trump called Khan his “very bully friend.”

By contrast, relations betwixt Khan and Biden were frosty. Khan often criticised Biden for ne'er contacting him aft assuming the presidency successful November 2020.

Former Pakistani ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, acknowledged the Pakistani diaspora’s effectiveness successful mobilising support. “They person persuaded individuals successful some parties to telephone for Khan’s release,” helium told Al Jazeera.

However, Haqqani, a elder chap astatine the Hudson Institute, cautioned that Pakistan remains a debased precedence for Trump’s overseas policy.

“It is naive for PTI supporters to deliberation they tin find leverage with US officials this way. Apart from 1 oregon 2 statements, there’s nary motion of a broader argumentation shift,” Haqqani said.

Ali, who is besides a lecturer astatine Johns Hopkins University, emphasised the disconnect betwixt US home authorities and overseas policy.

“The Trump medication whitethorn follow a much transactional approach. Pakistan has benefitted successful the past during Republican regimes, but currently, it isn’t a important subordinate successful US plans,” helium said.

Haqqani noted that US leverage often involves sanctions and economical pressures, but Pakistan, nary longer a large assistance recipient, offers constricted options for influence.

“Pakistan utilized to beryllium a starring recipient of US assistance post-9/11. But successful caller years, assistance has drastically reduced. Issues similar Pakistan’s atomic and rocket programs, its narration with China, and alleged enactment for militants are what interest the US,” helium said.

“And Khan isn’t peculiarly utile connected immoderate of those fronts.”