<p>Pakistan's "freedom struggle" has begun again with the ouster of his government due to a "foreign conspiracy", former prime minister Imran Khan said on Sunday in his first comments since his unceremonious removal hours earlier.</p>.<p>Despite the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government's hectic efforts to avoid voting on the no-confidence motion against Khan, the joint Opposition succeeded in its month-long efforts to oust Khan from the prime minister's office as 174 members of the 342-member National Assembly voted against him in the wee hours of Sunday after a day of high drama.</p>.<p>In his first comments since ouster, Khan in a tweet said, "Pakistan became an independent state in 1947; but the freedom struggle begins again today against a foreign conspiracy of regime change. It is always the people of the country who defend their sovereignty & democracy."</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/change-of-govt-in-islamabad-may-provide-window-to-reset-broken-india-pakistan-ties-1099406.html" target="_blank">A new Pakistan govt may defrost its icy ties with India</a></strong></p>.<p>Khan has been claiming that the Opposition’s no-trust motion against him was the result of a “foreign conspiracy” because of his independent foreign policy. He has named the US as the country behind the conspiracy, a charge bluntly denied by Washington multiple times.</p>.<p>Khan has alleged that Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs in the Department of State was involved in the ‘foreign conspiracy’ to topple his government.</p>.<p>Former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a passionate speech in Parliament on Saturday also echoed Khan's allegations of regime change being plotted by the US in Pakistan.</p>.<p>He said the US national security adviser telephoned his Pakistani counterpart and "categorically asked us not to proceed with the Russia tour" of Prime Minister Khan in February.</p>.<p>"Today Pakistan is standing at a historic juncture and the people need to decide whether they want to live in an independent state or become slaves [to the West],” Qureshi had said.</p>.<p>Pakistan has struggled with political instability since its formation in 1947 with multiple regime changes and military coups. No prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term.</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>
<p>Pakistan's "freedom struggle" has begun again with the ouster of his government due to a "foreign conspiracy", former prime minister Imran Khan said on Sunday in his first comments since his unceremonious removal hours earlier.</p>.<p>Despite the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government's hectic efforts to avoid voting on the no-confidence motion against Khan, the joint Opposition succeeded in its month-long efforts to oust Khan from the prime minister's office as 174 members of the 342-member National Assembly voted against him in the wee hours of Sunday after a day of high drama.</p>.<p>In his first comments since ouster, Khan in a tweet said, "Pakistan became an independent state in 1947; but the freedom struggle begins again today against a foreign conspiracy of regime change. It is always the people of the country who defend their sovereignty & democracy."</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/change-of-govt-in-islamabad-may-provide-window-to-reset-broken-india-pakistan-ties-1099406.html" target="_blank">A new Pakistan govt may defrost its icy ties with India</a></strong></p>.<p>Khan has been claiming that the Opposition’s no-trust motion against him was the result of a “foreign conspiracy” because of his independent foreign policy. He has named the US as the country behind the conspiracy, a charge bluntly denied by Washington multiple times.</p>.<p>Khan has alleged that Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs in the Department of State was involved in the ‘foreign conspiracy’ to topple his government.</p>.<p>Former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a passionate speech in Parliament on Saturday also echoed Khan's allegations of regime change being plotted by the US in Pakistan.</p>.<p>He said the US national security adviser telephoned his Pakistani counterpart and "categorically asked us not to proceed with the Russia tour" of Prime Minister Khan in February.</p>.<p>"Today Pakistan is standing at a historic juncture and the people need to decide whether they want to live in an independent state or become slaves [to the West],” Qureshi had said.</p>.<p>Pakistan has struggled with political instability since its formation in 1947 with multiple regime changes and military coups. No prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term.</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>