Trump’s Support for Imran Khan: What It Means for Pakistan’s Future

Richard Grenell is a former U.S. Ambassador and former holder of several posts in America.

He is a close confidant of American President-elect Donald Trump, who has nominated him as his special envoy in his forthcoming administration.

Richard Grenell’s recent tweet, “Free Imran Khan”, has led to wide speculation about its implications for Pakistan and elsewhere, and what it portends for the future of Pakistan. I will give my own understanding here.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been in jail since August 2023. Everyone knows that Pakistan is really ruled by its army. But the Pakistan army follows the orders of the U.S. government. Imran Khan had displeased the U.S. government by making strong, and sometimes intemperate, statements against America, visiting Russia, and meeting Putin, etc.

Today there are two powerful hostile alliances in the world: (1) the USA and Europe, and (2) China and Russia. Pakistan was always an ally of America since its inception. But Imran Khan, after becoming Prime Minister, started shifting Pakistan towards the China-Russia alliance. This infuriated the Americans, who told the Pakistan army to remove him from office and put him in jail, and the army dutifully complied.

Imran Khan would have remained in jail, but for one factor: 80–90% of the people of Pakistan are solidly supporting him (as all opinion polls indicate), and his party, PTI, would have won by a sweeping majority in the February 2024 parliamentary elections had there not been massive rigging.

Now, America is a country of businessmen, and Donald Trump is himself a big businessman. He must have realized that massive protests, and even guerrilla war, may soon start in Pakistan if the unpopular PDM government, foisted by fraud on the Pakistani people, is allowed to continue.

Business requires peace and stability, but there can be no peace and stability in Pakistan with an unpopular, illegitimate government. There are huge U.S. investments in Pakistan, and these will be endangered if there is instability in the country. Also, China, which lies in close proximity, will seize this opportunity and increase its penetration of Pakistan, to America’s detriment.

This is certainly not an eventuality the Americans would desire. Imran Khan is the only person who can give peace and stability to Pakistan, as he has the strong support of the vast majority of the people.

Therefore, it is in the American interest to enter into a deal with him, get him released, and allow him to become Prime Minister again.

Once one understands this, one can understand what Richard Grenell’s tweets really mean. Grenell could not have made these tweets without Donald Trump’s permission, and it was probably at Trump’s instance that they were made. This means that Trump supports Imran Khan.

The conclusion, therefore, is that Imran Khan will be released soon after Trump assumes office as President of the USA on January 20, 2025, and he will again become Prime Minister soon thereafter.

Also Read: Imran Khan Arrest: How was it decided? – An Imaginative Meeting

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