US warns of strained relations with Pakistan over election irregularities

The United States on Wednesday expressed significant concerns regarding the conduct of Pakistan's elections held on February 8, indicating that bilateral relations could be negatively impacted if the alleged irregularities are not thoroughly investigated and rectified through a rerun of votes where necessary.

Donald Lu, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, voiced these concerns to members of a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee, highlighting the U.S.'s dissatisfaction with the election process and the disruption of media and social media platforms, including the extended shutdown of X, previously known as Twitter.

Lu underlined the importance of Pakistan's Election Commission to validate these irregularities and consider rerunning elections in areas affected by interference, stating, "The Election Commission of Pakistan, should it find that these irregularities are substantiated, should rerun elections where there's been interference."

"We have enjoyed 76 years of partnership with this country. It will be an impediment to our relationship if Pakistan does not have a democratic process that upholds its own constitution," Lu said.

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Lu said the United States was not considering any major new military sales to Pakistan, a Cold War ally whose army and intelligence apparatus has long played a dominant role in politics and whose past links with Afghanistan's Taliban soured ties with Washington.

Ahead of the election, former prime minister and cricket star Imran Khan was jailed and barred from running, with his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party subject to a crackdown.

Khan's candidates nonetheless won more seats than any party, but rival Shehbaz Sharif became prime minister in a shaky coalition between two dynastic parties.

Khan, who was removed as prime minister by a parliamentary vote two years ago, has frequently criticized the US military and has alleged that the United States engineered his removal.

Khan's supporters have cited a leaked Pakistani diplomatic document that said that Lu had voiced alarm over the then prime minister's relationship with Russia during the invasion of Ukraine.

Lu, who was repeatedly disrupted at the hearing by pro-Khan demonstrators, strongly denied that he ever tried to remove Khan.

"This conspiracy theory is a lie. It is a complete falsehood," he said.

"We respect the sovereignty of Pakistan. We respect the principle that Pakistan -- Pakistani people -- should be the only ones choosing their own leaders through a democratic process."

Lu, a career diplomat, said that he has received death threats and his family has been threatened over the allegations.

With inputs from AFP