US was ‘deeply committed to a democratic and peaceful Pakistan’ & stood ‘with the people of Pakistan’: Ned Price
WASHINGTON, Nov 09, (SABAH): The United States reiterated its condemnation of the assassination attempt on former premier Imran Khan and stated that violence had ‘no place’ in politics.
Commenting on the Wazirabad attack, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price maintained that the country continued “to strongly condemn the shooting of Imran Khan”.
Referring to an earlier statement by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Ned Price stated that “violence has no place in politics” and that the US was “concerned about these reports of violence”.
“We call on all parties to refrain from violence, harassment, intimidation, and to respect the rule of law,” the US State Department spokesperson added.
He furthered that the US was “deeply committed to a democratic and peaceful Pakistan” and stood “with the people of Pakistan”.
Ned Price also restated the concern about “what has happened in Pakistan in recent days”, adding that political parties should “never” resort to violence.
“They should express their disagreements peacefully, using – employing universal rights – freedom of expression, freedom of assembly – but violence is never the answer,” Price said when asked about the “current political chaos” in Pakistan.
He offered condolences to the family of the individual who was killed and hoped for a “quick and thorough recovery of all who were injured, including Imran Khan”.
Responding to a question on press freedom, Ned Price maintained that the US “routinely” raised concerns about press freedom with all stakeholders around the world.
“We do that as a matter of course in Pakistan. We’ll continue to have those conversations with Pakistani authorities,” he said.
The spokesperson added that a “free press” and an “informed citizenry” were key for “any nation and its democratic future”.
Answering a question regarding Indian foreign minister’s upcoming visit to Russia, Ned Price said India’s relationship with Russia developed and was cemented over the course of decades.
He said that we’ve been intentional about exempting oil and gas – the energy sector – from the sanctions that have been imposed on Russia. So the fact that India has high demand for energy and that it continues to seek oil and other forms of energy from Russia – that is not something that runs afoul of the sanctions that have been imposed.