Hours after a United Nations working group declared Imran Khan’s detention illegal, a United States official referred to the affair as an “internal matter” for Pakistan.
State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel, during Monday’s routine press briefing, stated that he would let the UN detail their assessment. “I’ll let the United Nations offer any clarity on the comments that they’ve provided,” he said. “And in the case of Mr. Khan, you’ve heard us say this before: This is an internal matter for Pakistan. I don’t have any assessment to offer from up here.”
When asked about the House resolution regarding Pakistan’s elections, Patel declined to comment on pending congressional legislation. However, he emphasized that the US has consistently and privately urged Pakistan to respect the rights of its people.
“Let me just say broadly that when it comes to Pakistan, our most senior officials, whether that be Secretary Blinken, Assistant Secretary Lu, Ambassador Blome, we have consistently and privately and publicly urged Pakistan to respect the rights of its people in line with its constitution and international commitments,” he said.
It should be noted that the United Nations’ Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has declared that PTI founder Imran Khan’s detention and prosecution in the first Toshakhana case and the cipher case were “without legal basis” and politically motivated to exclude him from the political process.
