WASHINGTON, May 16: Amidst a domestic turmoil in Pakistan, the United States on Monday voiced support to freedom of expression without any violence and reiterated that a strong, stable and prosperous Pakistan is crucial to its ties with the country.
“Our belief is that individuals should have the freedom to express themselves, but do so without participating in any violence, violence that would put government employees in government buildings in harm’s way. And specifically on the arrest, I spoke a little bit to this last week,” state department’s Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters at his daily news conference, referring to former prime minister Imran Khan’s arrest last week by the Pakistani Rangers.
“The US does not have a position on one political party or one candidate or other. Our view is a strong, stable and prosperous Pakistan is crucial to US-Pakistan relations and that for any arrest that such an individual is affronted basic human rights in accordance to their laws,” he said, responding to a question on the ongoing developments in Pakistan.
Asked about the freedom of press in Pakistan, Patel said he is not going to be prescriptive about the current situation.
“I do not have an assessment to offer from here. But broadly, we are very clear about the need for access for media and the access for information and the free flow of information between the government and journalists,” he said.
Khan’s arrest from the Islamabad High Court premises last Tuesday triggered unrest in Pakistan that continued till Friday and led to several deaths and dozens of military and state installations being destroyed by the protesters.
For the first time in Pakistan’s history, the protesters stormed the army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and also torched the corps commander’s house in Lahore.
Police put the death toll in violent clashes to 10 while Khan’s party claims 40 of its workers lost their lives in the firing by security personnel.
On Monday, Khan appeared before the Lahore High Court, which fixed his bail hearing on Tuesday in the terrorism cases registered against him following his arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case that sparked violent protests by his supporters. (PTI)
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