Foreign minister Zac Goldsmith has broken with government practice by speaking out in support of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan amid turmoil in the country ahead of an expected election.
Downing Street today stopped short of rebuking the Tory peer for his comments, but confirmed that it was normally the case that the UK government “would not get involved in the domestic political affairs” of another country.
Mr Khan – who was previously married to Lord Goldsmith’s sister Jemima – was removed from office by a no-confidence vote on Saturday.
The former cricketer was today replaced as PM by opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif in a parliamentary vote which saw a walkout by MPs from Khan’s party.
But Mr Khan is calling for elections to be brought forward from their scheduled date next year, and Lord Goldsmith said he had “no doubt” he will be returned to office when Pakistanis go to the polls.
Posting on his official Twitter feed early on Sunday, Lord Goldsmith said: “Sad to see last night’s events in Pakistan.
“Imran Khan is a good and decent man, one of the least corruptible politicians on the world stage.
“I have no doubt he will be returned with a big majority in the upcoming elections.”
Downing Street was asked whether Lord Goldsmith, who is Foreign Office minister for the Pacific and the international environment, was speaking on behalf of the government.
A spokesperson responded: “With regard to Pakistan, we respect Pakistan’s democratic system and we would not get into its domestic political affairs.
“We have longstanding ties with Pakistan and are monitoring developments.”
The spokesperson was unable to say whether Lord Goldsmith would be told to take down his tweet or make clear it was issued in a personal capacity.
It is not the first time that the peer has used Twitter to send out messages at variance with the government’s position. Last year, he hastily deleted a tweet supporting Israel and its military at a time when Boris Johnson was calling on both sides in the Middle East conflict to step back from violence.
