The United States embassy in Islamabad on Wednesday issued an apology for retweeting a post against Prime Minister Imran Khan by PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal after it sparked outrage on social media.

The embassy, in a statement shared on Twitter, said:

"The US embassy Islamabad Twitter account was accessed last night 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."

The saga started when a presumably anti-Imran tweet by Ahsan Iqbal was shared by the official Twitter handle of the US embassy in Islamabad. In his tweet, Iqbal had shared a screenshot of an article by The Washington Post titled 'Trump's defeat is a blow for the world's demagogues and dictators' and drew a comparison between the current leadership in Pakistan a Trump.

"We have one in Pakistan too. He will be shown way out soon. Insha Allah!" his tweet stated.

Reposting of this tweet by the embassy sparked an outrage on the social media app with many, including Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari and Governor Sindh Imran Ismail, calling it a violation of diplomatic norms. Mazari took to Twitter to demand an apology and a clarification from the US embassy:

"US Embassy [is] still working in Trumpian mode in support of convicted absconder [and] intervening brazenly in our internal politics! Monroe Doctrine also died centuries ago! US Embassy must observe norms of diplomacy - so if fake then clarify through a tweet; if not then apology tweet needed."