TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
US says backs 'democratic' order in Pakistan after Imran Khan charged
"We support the peaceful upholding of democratic, constitutional and legal principles," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
Change Size
Attending the Pakistan Day parade in Islamabad on Saturday are (left to right) Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad, Pakistan President Arif Alvi, Azerbaijan Defense Minister Col. Gen. Hasanov Zakir Asgar Oglu and Pakistani Defense Minister Pervez Khattak. (AFP/Farooq Naeem)
T
he United States said Thursday that it backed democratic principles in Pakistan after former prime minister Imran Khan, an outspoken critic of Washington, was slapped with charges.
"We support the peaceful upholding of democratic, constitutional and legal principles," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
"The United States values our longstanding cooperation with Pakistan and has always viewed a prosperous and democratic Pakistan as critical to US interests," he said.
He declined to weigh in more specifically on charges against Khan, who was ousted in a parliamentary vote in April but hopes to stage a comeback in elections.
Khan has staged rallies to rail against his successor, Shehbaz Sharif, and has alleged a conspiracy against him orchestrated by the United States, allegations repeatedly dismissed in Washington as baseless.
Khan was granted interim bail after being slapped with charges by an anti-terror court over comments against a magistrate over the detention of an official in the former prime minister's party.
