Khalilzad 'pro-Imran statement' irked FO.

ISLAMABAD -- As political tensions deepen in Pakistan, the US role is once again in the discussion. This time a statement by a former US diplomat, who played a central role in the Afghan endgame, irked the Foreign Office.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US special envoy on Afghanistan, took to Twitter on Wednesday and warned against arresting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan.

His statement caught many by a surprise given that the former prime minister repeatedly targeted the US for allegedly being behind his ouster from the government through a vote of no confidence in April last year.

As Lahore descended in chaos after the police attempted to arrest Imran, the former diplomat wrote: 'Pakistan faces a triple crisis: political, economic, and security. Despite great potential, it is underperforming and falling far behind its archrival, India. It is time for serious soul-searching, bold thinking, and strategizing.'

'The sequential cannibalising of its leaders through jailing, execution, assassination, etc is the wrong path,' Khalilzad said. He went on to caution that Imran's arrest would only 'deepen the crisis'.

He suggested two steps to deal with the brewing political and economic crises. Khalilzad said first step would be hold parliamentary elections in June and secondly, he called for using this time for the main political parties to 'confront what has gone wrong and propose a specific plan to rescue and put the country on a path to stability, security, and prosperity'.

'Whichever party wins the election will have a mandate from the people on what must be done,' he said.

His statement drew strong reaction from the Foreign Office...