U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
| Photo Credit: AP

The United States on May 9 dismissed the Russian allegations of the US interfering in the ongoing Indian elections.

“No, of course, we don’t involve ourselves in elections in India as we don’t involve ourselves in elections anywhere in the world. Those are decisions for the people of India to make,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference.

He was responding to a question on Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova’s statement in Moscow in this regard when asked about a recent Washington Post article alleging that a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer was involved in an alleged plot to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil last year.

“Regular unfounded accusations by the United States against New Delhi… we see that they groundlessly accuse not only India but also many other states…of violating religious freedoms are a reflection of the United States’ misunderstanding of the national mentality, the historical context of the development of the Indian state and disrespect for India as a state,” Ms. Zakharova told reporters in Moscow.

She described it as a colonial mentality of the United States.

“The reason is that they try to unbalance the internal political situation in India in order to complicate the (ongoing) general parliamentary elections. That is part of meddling into India”s internal affairs,” RT news quoted her as saying.

“The Washington Post, it seems to me, should use the term ‘repressive regime’ and everything you quoted in relation to Washington. It is difficult to imagine a more repressive regime than Washington, both in domestic and international affairs,” she said.

In Washington, Mr. Miller refrained from responding to the question on the alleged plot.

“There is a publicly returned indictment that contains alleged facts. They are allegations until they’re proven before a jury that anyone can go and read. I won’t speak to them here because of course it’s an ongoing legal matter and I’ll leave it at that,” he said.

United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
| Photo Credit: AP

A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said the world body “hopes” that in India and any country that is having elections, people’s “political and civil rights” are “protected” and everyone is able to vote in a “free and fair” atmosphere.

Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric made these remarks on March 28 while he was responding to a question on the “political unrest” in India ahead of the upcoming national elections in the wake of the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the freezing of the opposition Congress Party’s bank accounts.

“What we very much hope that in India, as in any country that is having elections, that everyone’s rights are protected, including political and civil rights, and everyone is able to vote in an atmosphere that is free and fair,” Mr. Dujarric said at the daily press briefing on March 28.

The response from the United Nations comes a day after the U.S. also reacted to a similar question on Mr. Kejriwal’s arrest and freezing of the Congress party’s bank accounts.

On March 27, hours after India summoned a senior U.S. diplomat to protest remarks on Mr. Kejriwal’s arrest, Washington reiterated that it encourages fair, transparent, timely legal processes.

On the U.S. diplomat being summoned in Delhi, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said “I’m not going to talk about any private diplomatic conversations. But of course what we have said publicly is what I just said from here, that we encourage fair, transparent, timely legal processes. We don’t think anyone should object to that, and we’ll make the same thing clear privately.” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials summoned Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena to their office in South Block in the Indian capital. The meeting lasted for more than 30 minutes.

On March 28, India said the U.S. State Department’s recent remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal are “unwarranted” and asserted the country is “proud of its independent and robust democratic institutions” and committed to protecting them from any form of undue external influences.

Any “external imputation” on India’s electoral and legal processes is “completely unacceptable”, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in New Delhi during his weekly press briefing.

In India, legal processes are driven “only by the rule of law”, Mr. Jaiswal said on March 28.

Earlier on March 27, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said in a statement that India took strong objection to the remarks of the Spokesperson of the U.S. State Department about certain legal proceedings in India.

“India’s legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted,” the MEA had said. The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Kejriwal in a money laundering case linked to the excise policy ‘scam’.

The case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 which was later scrapped.

Maryam Nawaz.
| Photo Credit: AP

“The selection of Maryam Nawaz as the Chief Minister of the Punjab province is a milestone in Pakistani politics,” the U.S. has said, asserting that it looks forward to cooperating with Islamabad on integrating women more fully into the country’s political life.

Maryam, the 50-year-old daughter of three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, took oath as the first-ever woman Chief Minister of Pakistan’s most populous and politically crucial Punjab province last week.

“Her [Maryam Nawaz Sharif] selection as Chief Minister is a milestone in Pakistani politics,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference on March 4.

Maryam is considered the political heir to 74-year-old Nawaz Sharif, the three-time former Prime Minister.

“We look forward to cooperating with Pakistan more broadly on integrating women more fully into the country’s political life, in the economy, including through the U.S.-Pakistan Women’s Council, civil society, and other decision-making spaces,” he said.

“An inclusive Pakistan makes for a strong, prosperous country which all Pakistanis benefit from, and so we are always pleased when we see cracks in the glass ceiling anywhere in the world,” Mr. Miller said in response to a question.

However, he refrained from commenting on the election of the new Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif.

On Monday, Shehbaz (72) assumed the cash-strapped country’s reins for a second time, nearly a month after an inconclusive election marred by allegations of vote rigging.

“I’m not going to speak with respect to the new Prime Minister, but as we’ve said before, we value our longstanding partnership with Pakistan and have always viewed a strong, prosperous, and democratic Pakistan as critical to U.S.-Pakistan interests, and our engagement with new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his government will continue to focus on advancing these shared interests,” Mr. Miller said.

Pakis­tan has dismissed the U.S. suggestion to probe discrepancies in the February 8 general elections, asserting that it will not succumb to external dictates.

Foreign Office spokes­person Mum­taz Zahra Baloch in her weekly press address on March 1 categorically said that “no country could give directions” to Pakistan, an independent and sovereign nation.

“We believe in our own sovereign right to make decisions about Pakistan’s internal affairs,” Dawn News quoted Ms. Bal­och as saying in reply to the comments made by her U.S. counterpart reg­arding allegations of misconduct in the controversy-marred general elections.

Earlier this week, U.S. State Department spoke­sperson Matt­hew Miller said any claims of interference or fraud “should be fully and transparently investigated per Pakis­tan’s laws and procedures”.

On another occasion, Mr. Miller said, “Concerning inv­estigations into reported irregularities, we want to see those investigations proceed … [and] wrapped up as soon as possible.” The comments were prompted by accusations, particularly by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party-backed candidates, of tampering with and manipulation of election results.

The results were announced after an unprecedented delay by the Elec­tion Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The ECP and the caretaker government have strongly refuted the accusations, urging political parties to pursue legal remedies for their complaints through courts and other appropriate channels.

Mr. Miller is not the only U.S. official to express concerns over the polls.

Citing “strong evidence” of election rigging in Pakistan, a group of influential lawmakers, including Muslim legislators, belonging to the ruling Democratic Party has urged U.S. President Joe Biden to withhold “recognition” of a new government in Islamabad until a transparent and credible investigation is conducted.

The February 8 general election, marred by allegations of widespread rigging, in Pakistan, resulted in a hung Parliament with independent candidates backed by the PTI party winning more than 90 seats at the 266-member National Assembly.

Ex-Premier Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) bagged 75 seats and former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) got 54 seats.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) won 17 seats.

In a joint letter to President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the lawmakers expressed concerns about “pre-and post-poll rigging in Pakistan’s recent parliamentary elections”, urging the U.S. Congress to “withhold recognition of a new government in Pakistan until a thorough, transparent, and credible investigation of election interference has been conducted”.

Islamabad is a long-standing ally of Washington and it is in the interest of the U.S. to ensure that democracy thrives in Pakistan and that election results reflect the interests of the Pakistani people, not the interests of the Pakistani elite and military, the letter sent on Wednesday said.

Since the election resulted in a hung Parliament, the PML-N and the PPP have struck a post-poll deal with four other parties to form a coalition government, which may effectively end Mr. Khan’s chances of returning to power.

A party must win 133 out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly to form the government.

PTI has rejected the attempts by the PML-N and the PPP to form a coalition government, warning that robbing its public endorsement by the “mandate thieves” will result in the worst political instability.

“Given the strong evidence of pre- and post-poll rigging, we urge you to wait until a thorough, transparent, and credible investigation has been conducted before recognising a new Pakistani government. Without taking this necessary step, you risk enabling anti-democratic behaviour by Pakistani authorities and could undermine the democratic will of the Pakistani people,” the U.S. lawmakers said.

The letter urged Pakistani authorities to release anyone who has been detained for engaging in political speech or activity and tasked State Department officials in Pakistan with gathering information about such cases and advocating for their release.

It urged the Biden administration to “make clear” to Pakistani authorities that U.S. law provides for accountability for acts that violate human rights, undermine democracy, or further corruption, “including the potential for military and other cooperation to be halted”.

Around 35 Congress members, led by Democratic Party’s Gregorio Casar, have written a letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging not to acknowledge the new government in Islamabad until the cash-strapped country formally investigated the rigging allegations.

In response to a question about the letter, Ms. Baloch said, “This is a communication between public officials in the U.S. and is not addressed to the government of Pakistan. We therefore have no comments to offer on such letters.” Ms. Baloch said Pakistan is a “dynamic democracy” and possesses the necessary domestic frameworks to address issues related to elections or democratic processes.

The spokesperson also refrained from commenting on PTI founder Imran Khan’s letter to the International Monetary Fund which linked any future financial support with the election audit.

“As you know the [interim] Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has made a statement on this matter. The Ministry of Finance takes the lead on IMF-related issues, so they will be in a better position to comment on this subject,” she said.