US reacts to PTI founder Imran Khan's conviction in cipher case

WASHINGTON: United States (US) reacted to the conviction of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan in the cipher case, ARY News reported.

Addressing a weekly press briefing, the US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller said “the prosecution of the former prime minister is a legal matter and we would defer to the Pakistani courts with respect to a legal matter, but of course we want to see the democratic process unfold in a way that allows broad participation for all parties and respects democratic principles.”.

However, the US doesn’t take a position about internal Pakistani matters, and refrain from taking a position with respect to candidates for office in Pakistan, he added.

While commenting on general elections 2024 in Pakistan, Mathew Miller said that “we certainly want to see a free and fair election, and we will be monitoring how that proceeds over the next week to 10 days. We want to see a free, fair, and open democratic process, and when it comes to legal matters, those are matters for the Pakistani courts to decide”.

Yesterday, a special court hearing cipher case handed a 10-year jail term, each, to former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

The former prime minister and the former foreign minister were facing trial in cipher case in Adiala Jail from last year for ‘distorting’ the facts of the diplomatic cipher.

Both the PTI leaders were accused of conspiracy to misuse the contents of the cipher to fulfill nefarious purposes.

US reacts to PTI founder's conviction in cipher case