ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s defense minister on Wednesday criticized a US House of Representatives resolution calling for a probe of alleged voting irregularities in the South Asian nation’s February general election.
The vote, in which no single party won a clear majority, was marred by violence, communication blackouts and allegations by the party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan that the polls were rigged. The country’s election commission denies this.
“They have no right to interfere in our internal affairs or give any sort of verdict on the matter,” Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told local broadcaster Geo News.
He said the resolution, passed on Tuesday, had “no value” and was political posturing in an election year in the United States. In addition to calling for an independent investigation, the US House resolution condemned any effort to subvert the electoral process.
Pakistan’s foreign office released a more carefully worded statement, saying that the resolution “stems from an incomplete understanding of the political situation and electoral process in Pakistan.”
Washington’s support will be crucial for Islamabad in coming weeks as it looks to secure a fresh bailout from the International Monetary Fund to stave off an economic crisis.
The resolution will not have much impact on Washington’s policy toward Pakistan, Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute, said in a post on social media platform X.
But, he added, it raised questions about whether Pakistan legislation could follow, noting bipartisan support for the resolution.
The resolution was welcomed by Khan’s party, which was banned from contesting the elections.
“The hope is that other nations and leaders will follow the US House’s example,” senior Khan aide Zulfikar Bukhari said in a text message.
Independent candidates backed by Khan won the most seats but did not have the numbers to form a government. Instead an alliance of his rivals formed a government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The polls remain contentious and are facing a number of legal challenges.
Pakistan defense minister criticizes US House call for probe into election
https://arab.news/7jm95
Pakistan defense minister criticizes US House call for probe into election
- Khawaja Asif says the resolution has ‘no value,’ calls it political posturing in a US election year
- Washington’s support will be crucial for Islamabad in coming weeks during IMF bailout talks
Pakistani students stuck in Afghanistan permitted to go home
- The border between the countries has been shut since Oct. 12
- Worries remain for students about return after the winter break
JALALABAD: After three months, some Pakistani university students who were stuck in Afghanistan due to deadly clashes between the neighboring countries were “permitted to go back home,” Afghan border police said Monday.
“The students from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (northwest Pakistan) who were stuck on this side of the border, only they were permitted to cross and go to their homes,” said Abdullah Farooqi, Afghan border police spokesman.
The border has “not reopened” for other people, he said.
The land border has been shut since October 12, leaving many people with no affordable option of making it home.
“I am happy with the steps the Afghan government has taken to open the road for us, so that my friends and I will be able to return to our homes” during the winter break, Anees Afridi, a Pakistani medical student in eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, told AFP.
However, worries remain for the hundreds of students about returning to Afghanistan after the break ends.
“If the road is still closed from that side (Pakistan), we will be forced to return to Afghanistan for our studies by air.”
Flights are prohibitively expensive for most, and smuggling routes also come at great risk.
Anees hopes that by the time they return for their studies “the road will be open on both sides through talks between the two governments.”
