US Congressional committee to hold hearing on Pakistan election

Washington: A US Congressional committee has announced that it will hold a hearing on March 20 on the recently held elections in Pakistan after over two dozen lawmakers expressed concern over the fairness of the polls.

The title of the hearing is “Pakistan After the Elections: Examining the Future of Democracy in Pakistan and the US-Pakistan Relationship.” The announcement on the hearing on Pakistan scheduled for March 20 comes after more than two dozen lawmakers expressed concerns over the fairness of the February 8 polls.

The elections were marred by the allegations of vote rigging. Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party says the new government was formed by stealing its mandate.

Though more than 90 independent candidates backed by Khan's PTI won the maximum number of seats in the National Assembly, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto struck a post-poll deal and formed a coalition government last week.

Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu has been asked to testify before the Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Lu’s alleged involvement in the cipher controversy adds significance to his testimony.

The purported cipher (secret diplomatic cable) contained an account of a meeting between US State Department officials, including Lu and Pakistani envoy Asad Majeed Khan last year.

Khan alleged that Lu threatened to destabilise his government during a March 2022 meeting with Asad Majeed Khan. The US consistently dismisses these allegations as unfounded.

On March 20, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is also scheduled to consider a resolution which expresses support for democracy and human rights in Pakistan.

The resolution calls on the President and the Secretary of State to work with Pakistan to ensure democracy, human rights, and the rule of law are upheld; and urges Islamabad to uphold democratic institutions, human rights, and the rule of law, and respect the fundamental guarantees of due process, freedom of press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of speech of the people of Pakistan. It condemns attempts to suppress the people of Pakistan’s participation in their democracy, including through harassment, intimidation, arbitrary detention, or any violation of their human, civil, or political rights; and condemns any effort to subvert the political, electoral, or judicial processes of Pakistan.