The US Embassy in Pakistan on Wednesday apologized for retweeting an anti-government statement from an opposition leader who suggested Prime Minister Imran Khan would fall from power in the wake of President Donald Trump’s election defeat.
“We have one in Pakistan too. He will be shown the way out soon,” the Tuesday tweet by opposition lawmaker Ahsan Iqbal said, without naming Khan directly. The comment was retweeted Tuesday on the US Embassy in Islamabad’s account.
In its tweet on Wednesday, the embassy said its Twitter account had been accessed without authorization. “The US Embassy does not endorse the posting or retweeting of political messages. We apologize for any confusion that may have resulted from the unauthorized post,” it said. It provided no additional details.
The controversy started Tuesday when Iqbal shared a screenshot on the social networking site of an article by The Washington Post with the headline “Trump’s defeat is a blow for the world’s demagogues and dictators.” He wrote: “We have one in Pakistan too. He will be shown the way out soon. Insha Allah” (God willing).
The sharing of Iqbal’s tweet by the US embassy’s Twitter account quickly sparked outrage, as government officials, including a federal minister and the Sindh governor, called upon the embassy to respect diplomatic norms and issue an apology. The hashtag #ApologiseUSembassy also started trending on Twitter on Wednesday.
In response to the US Embassy retweet, Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari took to Twitter, saying, “US Embassy still working in Trumpian mode in support of convicted absconder & intervening brazenly in our internal politics.” In another tweet, she said the “US Embassy must observe norms of diplomacy.” “Monroe doctrine also died centuries ago! US embassy must observe norms of diplomacy,” she said.
The minister also expressed her dissatisfaction with the apology issued by the US embassy.
“Account was clearly not hacked so someone who had access to it used it ‘without authorisation’. Unacceptable that someone working in the US embassy is pushing a particular political party’s agenda,” she said.
Sindh Governor Imran Ismail urged the Foreign Office to take action against the embassy. “This is utterly absurd, how can the US embassy retweet something containing derogatory remarks against our premier? This is against diplomatic protocols. An apology is needed with immediate clarification if fake or hacked,” he said.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill said it was the first time ever an embassy was seen “insulting” its own lawfully elected president. “We expect some heads must roll. This is unacceptable!” he said.
