ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Assembly on Friday passed a resolution against a US House of Representatives resolution calling for a probe of alleged voting irregularities in the South Asian nation’s February general election.
The Feb. 8 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.
Ruling party lawmaker Shaista Malik tabled the resolution which was adopted by the National Assembly despite objections from lawmakers from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.
In a televised speech, Malik said the US resolution was “completely against the facts” and Pakistan would not tolerate any such interference in its internal affairs.
“The House further regrets that the US resolution does not acknowledge the free and enthusiastic exercise of the right to vote by millions of Pakistanis in the recently held General Election,” the resolution read.
Addressing a weekly news briefing, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch separately said Pakistan “deeply regretted” the resolution, saying it stemmed from an “inadequate and erroneous understanding of the political and electoral processes of Pakistan.”
“It is also an unsolicited interference in Pakistan’s domestic affairs,” she said. “We believe that bilateral relations between countries should be based on mutual respect and sovereign equality … The unsolicited interference from the US Congress is therefore neither welcome nor accepted.”
Baloch said Pakistan wanted relations with the United States “on the basis of mutual trust and confidence and non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs.”
“We also hope that the US Congress would play a more constructive role in strengthening Pakistan-US bilateral relations by focusing on avenues of collaboration for mutual benefit of the relations,” the spokesperson concluded.
Khan’s party won the most seats in Feb. 8 elections but fell short of a simple majority to form a government, paving the way for Khan’s political rivals lead by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to form a coalition government.
Pakistan parliament denounces US congressional resolution calling for probe into general elections
https://arab.news/cfvqq
Pakistan parliament denounces US congressional resolution calling for probe into general elections
- National Assembly adopts resolution despite objections from Imran Khan party lawmakers
- February 8 vote was marred by violence, communication blackouts and allegations of rigging
Islamabad, Tehran to extend electricity supply agreement for Pakistan’s southwest
- Tariffs to remain between 7.7–11.45 cents/kWh as Islamabad seeks stability for energy-short border regions
- Iran currently powers Gwadar and other border towns where Pakistan’s national grid remains limited
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran have agreed to extend their cross-border electricity supply pact for the southwestern province of Balochistan, maintaining tariffs between 7.7 and 11.45 cents per kilowatt-hour, Pakistan’s energy ministry said on Tuesday.
The deal, first signed in 2002, underpins energy security for parts of southwestern Pakistan where the national grid remains underdeveloped and erratic supply has hampered both industry and residential consumption. Coastal towns like Gwadar and nearby Mand Town in Balochistan have for years relied on imported Iranian power as connectivity with Pakistan’s main transmission network is incomplete and local generation insufficient.
Iran currently exports 100 megawatts of electricity to Gwadar under a March 2023 agreement and could scale up deliveries once additional infrastructure is operational. In May 2023, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi jointly inaugurated the Polan–Gabd transmission line to enable another 100 MW of supply.
Energy ministry spokesperson Zafar Yab Khan confirmed the extension of the deal, saying it had been moved forward between the two governments.
“Yes, it is correct,” he told Arab News, adding that the revised agreement was expected to be placed before Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC).
However, the ECC, Pakistan’s top economic decision-making forum, did not take up the extension in its meeting on Tuesday.
Power trade between Iran and Pakistan has expanded gradually over two decades, with tariffs negotiated periodically to reflect fuel costs and cross-border infrastructure upgrades. In August 2023, the ECC approved amendments to a separate contract extending a 104-MW supply from Iran’s Jakigur district into Pakistan’s Mand town through December 2024.
Gwadar, a key node in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), is expected to remain dependent on imported electricity until new domestic lines are completed, making continued Iranian supply critical for industries, port operations and basic household demand.
