The United States said Thursday it is interested in taking appropriate steps to continue to foster its relationship with Pakistan as the South Asian nation held a vote to decide its future.
“Our interest is in the democratic process, and we are interested in taking the appropriate steps to continue to foster our relationship, our partnership with the Government of Pakistan, whatever it should be,” Vedant Patel, US Department of State’s principal deputy spokesperson, told a press conference in Washington.
Patel reiterated that Pakistan’s future leadership is for the Pakistani people to decide, and the American nation’s interest continues to be in the democratic process.
The State Department has faced tough questions from journalists related to Pakistan since April 2022 when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was ousted, with the then-prime minister Imran Khan alleging that the US was behind his removal — a claim that the American officials vehemently denied.
In the lead-up to Pakistan’s general elections, which were by far the biggest that the country has ever staged, several incidents of violence were witnessed in which candidates were killed, party workers injured, and property damaged.
In response, Patel said: “We strongly condemn all instances of election-related violence, both in the weeks preceding elections as well as those that transpired on election day.”
