In response to the Pakistani government’s recent decision to outlaw the PTI, the US stated on Monday that it was “extremely concerned” about any action taken against a political party.
The federal government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Monday that it decided to ban the PTI and pursue Article 6 proceedings against the party’s founder, Imran Khan, former president Dr. Arif Alvi, and former deputy speaker of the National Assembly (NA), Qasim Suri. This seems like government’s latest attempt to suppress the PTI as per analysts.
The announcement followed the top court’s relief to the party in the reserved seats case and to the party’s leader in the Iddat case, suggesting that the action was an attempt to keep the PTI from advancing to the position of single largest party in the NA.
In yesterday’s State Department daily news conference, US Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller offered his thoughts on the latest development.
He stated, “Our understanding is that this is the start of what will be a complex political process, but we would be very concerned about the banning of a political party or a political concern.”
“The peaceful upholding of constitutional and democratic principles, particularly respect for human rights and freedom of expression,” is something that the US supports, according to Miller.
He said that Washington will continue to “monitor the — these decisions and further decision — any further decisions by the courts” and that Washington backed democratic procedures including the rule of law and equal justice under the law.
In light of the recent attempt on the life of Republican candidate Donald Trump, Miller also spoke against political violence.
Miller responded to a journalist who likened the recent event to the November 2022 attempt on the life of imprisoned leader Imran Khan by saying that the US detests “political violence in any country, including Pakistan, and have spoke out against it and denounced it.”
He said, “And we want to see respect for democratic principles and people’s fundamental human rights and democratic rights upheld. We also support the rule of law in Pakistan and every country in the world.”
