People in the audience interrupted a House hearing on Wednesday while a U.S. State Department official was speaking. The official said it's a conspiracy theory that the U.S. removed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Donald Lu, the assistant secretary of State for South and Central Asia, was questioned during a subcommittee hearing about Pakistan’s elections regarding the baseless theories of U.S. involvement in removing Khan from power after a no-confidence vote in 2022.
Lu stated that the allegations of a conspiracy were false and emphasized that he had reviewed the press reporting related to a leaked diplomatic cable from the embassy. The audience then began to shout.
The Intercept reported reported last year that the U.S. State Department encouraged the Pakistani government in 2022 to remove Khan from power, citing a Pakistani government document.
The Intercept’s D.C. Bureau Chief, Ryan Grim, shared a video on Xon social media, showing audience members shouting in response to Lu’s comments.
Members of the audience started chanting and continued to accuse Lu of lying while shouting him down.
A few minutes after the disruption, Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) asked those who disrupted the hearing to be removed. A video posted by Grim shows officers escorting a few members of the audience out.
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) emphasized the importance of the topic and requested that disruptive people be removed from the hearing out of respect for those interested in the topic.
In 2022, Khan demanded that Lu be removed be removed from his position, stating unsubstantiated claims of his involvement in the U.S. plot to remove Khan from power. The State Department denied these allegations at the time.
After a few people were removed, Lu addressed the disruption and mentioned receiving death threats due to the theories.
Lu spoke about facing regular death threats and threats against his family, involving local police, as a result of unfounded allegations in the past two years.
Lu stated that while free speech is allowed, some instances verged into threats of violence, which is unacceptable in society.
The Hill has contacted Capitol Police for comments.
