US hails Pakistan Army’s statement of no conspiracy behind regime change

Washington: The US State Department has said that there is no truth in allegations regarding its role in the regime change in Pakistan as was alleged by former Prime Minister Imran Khan saying that the US does not support, whether it’s in Pakistan or anywhere else around the world, one political party over another. 

US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price in his briefing on Thursday said: “Our message has been clear and consistent on this. There is no truth whatsoever to the allegations that have been put forward. We support the peaceful upholding of constitutional and democratic principles, including respect for human rights. We do not support, whether it’s in Pakistan or anywhere else around the world, one political party over another. We support broader principles, including the rule of law and equal justice under the law.”

The US State Department’s statement came after the ISPR DG Major General Babar Iftikhar said on Thursday that the word ‘conspiracy’ was not mentioned in the statement that was issued after a meeting of the National Security Committee last month. 

The ISPR DG rubbished the ‘conspiracy’ claim saying the issuance of demarches was not specific to the hatching of conspiracies but could also be given for other reasons. "In this case, it was given for undiplomatic language and is equal to interference," he added.

Giving his reaction to the Pakistan military’s spokesperson’s statement, Mr Ned Price said that the US fully agreed with it. 

Price said the United States agrees with the assessment of Pakistan's military spokesperson, who said it has no evidence to suggest that the Biden administration had threatened or was involved in the conspiracy to seek the ouster of Imran Khan's government.

Responding to another question regarding improvement in the bilateral relations between Pakistan and the US under newly-elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s regime, he said: “Well, you probably saw a statement that we released from the Secretary last night regarding the election of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. For almost 75 years, the relationship between the United States and Pakistan has been a vital one. We look forward to continuing that work with Pakistan’s government to promote peace and prosperity in Pakistan and the broader region. And in that spirit, we’ve congratulated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on his election by the Pakistani Parliament, and we look forward to working with him and his government.”