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Pakistan hits back at US Congress’ call for election probe
27-06-2024
WASHINGTON/ ISLAMABAD: Pakistan strongly objected Wednesday to a US congressional resolution calling for an investigation into interference and fraud allegations related to Pakistan’s February 8 parliamentary elections.
“We believe that the timing and context of this particular resolution does not align well with the positive dynamics of our bilateral ties,” said the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad.
The statement said the resolution “stems from an incomplete understanding of the political situation and electoral process” in Pakistan.
The rebuke came a day after the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted (368-7) to approve a resolution urging “the full and independent investigation of claims of interference or irregularities” in Pakistan’s election.
The US lawmakers also condemned what they described as “attempts to suppress” participation of Pakistanis in their democracy “through harassment, intimidation, violence, arbitrary detention, restrictions on access to the internet and telecommunications.”
In its response, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry stated that Islamabad was committed to “the values of constitutionalism, human rights, and the rule of law in pursuance of our own national interest.” It urged the US Congress to play its role in strengthening bilateral relations and mutual collaboration benefiting both countries.
“We believe in constructive dialogue and engagement based on mutual respect and understanding. Such resolutions are, therefore, neither constructive nor objective.”
Khawaja Asif, the Pakistani defense minister, also went on social media platform X to criticize the US lawmakers’ call for an impartial election probe.
“This is from the country that spent the 20th century overthrowing democratically elected governments, and currently facilitating the Palestinian genocide,” Asif wrote. “Let’s look at their history of irregularities in 2016 & 2020 elections, both Democrats and Republicans accused of foreign intervention and rigging, how about asking UN for probe.”
“US Congress calls for impartial probe into Pakistan’s elections following irregularities claims”This is from the country that spent the 20th century overthrowing democratically elected governments, and currently facilitating the Palestinian genocide۰Let’s look at their… pic.twitter.com/tVF93VGTvu.
US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller declined to comment specifically on the resolution while addressing a regular news conference in Washington.
“Our most senior officials, including Secretary [of State] Antony Blinken and Ambassador Donald Blome (in Islamabad), have consistently, both privately and publicly, urged Pakistan to respect the rights of its people and live with its constitutional and international obligations,” Miller said.
“We continuously urge the government of Pakistan to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedoms of expression, association, peaceful assembly, religion, as well as the rights of marginalized populations such as women and religious minorities,” he said.
Analysts, such as Washington-based Michael Kugelman, said the resolution would not have much impact on U.S. policy toward Pakistan, noting that the Biden administration already has called for an investigation into charges of election irregularities.
Pakistani authorities have vehemently defended the February 8 vote and its outcome. Opposition parties and independent domestic and foreign observers, however, have complained of nationwide mobile phone and internet shutdowns on the polling day, unusually delayed results, and a state crackdown against jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party in the run-up to the election. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
