ISLAMABAD:In a startling disclosure from the shadowy world of JeffreyEpstein, the financier and convicted sex offender labeled former PakistaniPrime Minister Imran Khan as a profound threat to global stability in aprivate email exchange from July 2018, mere weeks after Khan’s PakistanTehreek-e-Insaf party swept to victory in the general elections.
Epstein, whose vast network of influence extended into political andintelligence circles, reportedly described Khan as “really bad news” andasserted that he posed a greater danger to peace than Turkey’s Recep TayyipErdogan, Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, China’s Xi Jinping, orRussia’s Vladimir Putin. This revelation, unearthed from Epstein’s leakedcorrespondence, paints a picture of acute Western apprehension towardKhan’s rise, framing him not merely as a populist leader but as anunpredictable force wielding Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.
The emails, exchanged with an unidentified correspondent, reveal Epstein’sunfiltered disdain. He portrayed Khan as a “devout Islamist” incapable oftruthfulness, harboring ambitions that could destabilize the region.Epstein even claimed familiarity with two of Khan’s former wives, JemimaGoldsmith and Reham Khan, though subsequent scrutiny has cast doubt on theveracity of this assertion, suggesting it may have been a ploy to bolsterhis ominous warnings.
The timing is uncanny: Epstein’s missive arrived as Khan assumed office,promising an anti-corruption crusade and foreign policy realignment thatchallenged entrenched U.S. interests in South Asia. Analysts note thatEpstein’s rhetoric echoed broader intelligence concerns aboutIslamist-leaning governments in nuclear states, but his personal stake—amidhis own entanglements with global elites—raises questions about whetherthese views were informed by classified briefings or mere speculation.
Fast-forward to April 2022, and the specter of Epstein’s prophecy seemed tomaterialize in Khan’s dramatic ouster through a no-confidence vote, whichhe has long attributed to a U.S.-orchestrated conspiracy involving thePakistani military establishment. Declassified cables and whistlebloweraccounts, including those from former U.S. officials, lend credence toKhan’s claims of American pressure, with the State Department allegedlyviewing his neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine war and overtures to Chinaas intolerable.
Investigative journalist Ryan Grim, known for his probing work on U.S.foreign interventions, has amplified these connections in recentcommentary, arguing that the Epstein leak underscores a pattern of Westernregime-change tactics in Pakistan. Grim’s analysis posits that Khan’sindependent streak—evident in his criticism of U.S. drone strikes andadvocacy for Palestinian rights—made him a pariah in Washington, far moreso than the authoritarian figures Epstein invoked.
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This episode demands rigorous analysis of U.S.-Pakistan dynamics. Epstein,a figure synonymous with elite impunity, lacked formal diplomaticcredentials, yet his words eerily presage the geopolitical maneuvers thatfelled Khan. If true, they expose a chilling intersection of personalvendettas and statecraft, where a sex trafficker’s prejudices couldinfluence perceptions of a sovereign leader.
For Pakistan, the leak revives debates on sovereignty versus superpowermeddling, fueling Khan’s enduring popularity among supporters who see himas a victim of imperial overreach. As calls grow for full declassificationof Epstein’s files, including any Pakistan-related intelligence, the nationgrapples with its place in a unipolar order fraying at the edges. Khan’sPTI remains a potent opposition force, hinting that the “bad news” Epsteinforesaw may yet reshape the subcontinent’s fault lines.
Source: www.dawn.com/news/standfirst/1770000,”>https://www.dawn.com/news/standfirst/1770000,https://dialoguepakistan.com/en/world/epstein-called-imran-khan–really-bad-news–after-pti-s-2018-election-win