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Pakistan has pushed back on a US congressional vote that called for an investigation into allegations of fraud and interference in the country’s February 8 parliamentary elections.

What happened:
Opposition parties and observers have widely accused Pakistan’s February 8 election of irregularities. Issues such as nationwide communication shutdowns, delayed results, and suppression of Imran Khan’s PTI party have been raised. Khan, imprisoned on controversial charges, and his party have accused the authorities of rigging the vote, claiming that independent candidates supporting PTI won the most seats but fell short of a majority due to manipulation.

Pakistan responds:
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry expressed strong objections to the US resolution, arguing that it misinterpreted Pakistan’s political and electoral processes. “We believe that the timing and context of this particular resolution does not align well with the positive dynamics of our bilateral ties,” the ministry stated. This reaction followed the US House of Representatives’ overwhelming approval (368-7) of a resolution urging a thorough and independent investigation into the claims of election irregularities.

US lawmakers also condemned the suppression of democratic participation in Pakistan, arguing that suppression was being done “through harassment, intimidation, violence, arbitrary detention, restrictions on access to the internet and telecommunications.”

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif also criticized the US call for an impartial election probe on social media, pointing out historical US interventions in foreign democracies and recent domestic electoral controversies. He said, “This is from the country that spent the 20th century overthrowing democratically elected governments and currently facilitating the Palestinian genocide. Let’s look at their history of irregularities in 2016 & 2020 elections, both Democrats and Republicans accused of foreign intervention and rigging, how about asking UN for probe.”