The United States responded to Imran Khan’s sentencing in the cipher case on Tuesday, with a U.S. official stating that the prosecution of the former prime minister is a legal matter for Pakistani courts to decide.
State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller, addressing the 10-year prison sentence imposed on Khan, emphasized the U.S. desire to witness a fair democratic process in Pakistan. Miller stressed that the U.S. does not take a stance on Pakistan’s internal matters, including the selection of candidates for power, but instead advocates for an open and democratic electoral process with broad participation.
While expressing the U.S. commitment to monitoring the upcoming 10 days leading to the elections, Miller declined to draw comparisons between Imran Khan’s sentence and events in Venezuela.
He asserted that the situations are distinct, and the U.S. has not yet reached conclusions regarding the Pakistani legal process. Miller highlighted the U.S. focus on Venezuela’s overall history of suppressing democracy, particularly the failure to fulfill commitments allowing candidates to run.
In a related context, the U.S. had previously lifted sanctions on Venezuela’s gold sector after a court upheld the disqualification of two candidates from the presidential election.
