The White House expressed the need to respect the wishes of the Pakistani people.
Islamabad:
Jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday sought help from the United States and sent a special message to Washington, saying the United States had a role to play and expressing concern over Pakistan’s “rigged” election.
It’s a so-called diplomatic cable (coded) that Khan, 71, abandoned at a public rally in March 2022, claiming the United States wanted to overthrow his government, shortly before his political star It went downhill and ended up in jail. In several cases, they were even disqualified from voting.
Mr Khan became prime minister in August 2018 and was ousted in a vote of no confidence in April 2022. He is currently lodged in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, facing conviction in several cases, including the password case.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party claimed the February 8 election was “unfair” and “the results were rigged.” The February 8 results resulted in a fragmented election in which no party secured a clear majority, leaving Pakistan without a government a week after polling day.
Even as more than 100 independents backed by Mr Khan’s PTI won, the party claimed its mandate had been stolen. If these troubles were not enough, over the past three days a number of independents have joined PTI’s rivals – the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Pakistan People’s Party and four other smaller parties – in announcing alliance.
After a meeting of party leaders at the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, where Mr Khan has been imprisoned since September last year, PTI spokesman Asad Qaiser told media persons that the party had nominated O Mar Ayub Khan is the prime ministerial candidate.
However, it was Mr Khan’s message to the United States that was the highlight of the press conference.
“Mr. Khan sent a message that the United States should speak out against alleged electoral fraud. He also sent a special message to the United States that the United States was not playing its part accordingly,” Kaiser said.
The PTI official claimed that Mr Khan’s message was that “the United States has an opportunity and should pay close attention to electoral fraud” and “if they are the defenders of democracy, then they should speak out if they believe the election results in Pakistan” This isn’t fair. According to Geo News, PTI lawyer Barrister Saif, who also addressed the media along with Gohar Khan and Mr. Qaiser, said: “The United States should take action against these elections Take a tougher stance. ”
“When PTI is in trouble in the elections, America should make its voice heard,” Saif quoted the party’s founder as saying.
Khan was charged and convicted of “misusing cryptographic content” to create a narrative that his government was overthrown as a result of a U.S.-orchestrated foreign conspiracy, a charge Washington denies. A secret diplomatic cable (coded) sent by the country’s embassy in Washington to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad in March 2022.
Meanwhile, the White House on Wednesday called for ensuring transparency in Pakistan’s electoral process and said the will of the Pakistani people needs to be respected.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that US President Joe Biden “understands the election in Pakistan” and “we have been clearly communicating to the Pakistani government and the Pakistani political spectrum in public and private settings that we respect the will of the Pakistani people and Ensuring that the electoral process is transparent is critical and clearly important.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
