WASHINGTON: The United States has declared that the cases against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan as the country’s internal matter.
“The cases against Imran Khan and other politicians in Pakistan are an internal matter,” the State Department said in a response to a question.
“We call for the respect of democratic principles and the rule of law in Pakistan, as we do around the world,” the department said.
The US State Department has time and again also termed Imran Khan’s claims of the US ousting his government as “baseless”.
The former prime minister was sent to jail for three years after a court in the capital found him guilty of graft in the Toshakhana case.
Earlier in June, the US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that former prime minister Imran Khan “is a private citizen, and the US government does not have a stance” on private citizens.
The spokesperson made the comment when asked that the Pakistani government was advising news outlets “not even to mention Mr Khan’s name” in their news bulletins and talk shows and the impact on press freedom.
“I would say that we generally urge all governments to respect the role of journalists and media. We believe the press performs a critical function in democratic societies,” said.
The spokesperson said Washington expects journalists in Pakistan are allowed to work independently. “We expect that journalists covering the events in Pakistan should all be allowed to do their work.”
He said a free and independent press was a vital, core institution that “undergirds healthy democracies by ensuring that electorates can make informed decisions and holding government officials accountable”.
When asked about the US stance towards Imran Khan, Miller said: “He’s a private citizen. We don’t generally have stances towards private (citizens).”
When a journalist reminded him that Imran Khan was a former prime minister who “claims that defying US policies led to his downfall”, the State Department official said the allegations are “absolutely false.”
