US denies meddling in Pakistan's politics

Published August 22, 2014
State Department’s deputy spokesperson Marie Harf. — File photo
State Department’s deputy spokesperson Marie Harf. — File photo

The State Department in a daily briefing in Washington on Friday commented said the US was not engaged in any discussions that could be regarded as interference in Pakistan's internal politics.

State Department’s deputy spokesperson Marie Harf said: "We are in no way involved in the process or the discussion between the parties. Any suggestion to the contrary is completely false."

"We do think that there needs to be peaceful dialogue and no attempts to change Pakistan’s government through extra-constitutional attempts," Harf added.

Responding to a question as to whether there were any contacts between Islamabad and Washington on the current situation, Harf said US Ambassador to Pakistan Olson "meets quite frequently with a range of officials, and I believe that’s where the contact has occurred".

A day ago, the US had put its weight behind the “elected government” of Nawaz Sharif, declaring that it did not support any “extra-constitutional changes” in Pakistan or those “attempting to impose” such changes.

Harf had said that the US believed “Nawaz Sharif was elected and is prime minister” and that “there’s a government in place that was elected”.

The statement had caused an angry reaction at Islamabad’s D Chowk, where thousands of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistani Awami Tehreek (PAT) workers have been protesting for a week to force the prime minister to resign.

Opinion

Editorial

When medicine fails
Updated 18 Nov, 2024

When medicine fails

Between now and 2050, medical experts expect antibiotic resistance to kill 40m people worldwide.
Nawaz on India
Updated 18 Nov, 2024

Nawaz on India

Nawaz Sharif’s hopes of better ties with India can only be realised when New Delhi responds to Pakistan positively.
State of abuse
18 Nov, 2024

State of abuse

DESPITE censure from the rulers and society, and measures such as helplines and edicts to protect the young from all...
Football elections
17 Nov, 2024

Football elections

PAKISTAN football enters the most crucial juncture of its ‘normalisation’ era next week, when an Extraordinary...
IMF’s concern
17 Nov, 2024

IMF’s concern

ON Friday, the IMF team wrapped up its weeklong unscheduled talks on the Fund’s ongoing $7bn programme with the...
‘Un-Islamic’ VPNs
Updated 17 Nov, 2024

‘Un-Islamic’ VPNs

If curbing pornography is really the country’s foremost concern while it stumbles from one crisis to the next, there must be better ways to do so.