In response to the United States House of Representatives vote to demand a probe into alleged irregularities in Pakistan’s general elections, the National Assembly on Friday passed a resolution to condemn the US Congress resolution and termed it “contrary to facts” and “interference” in its internal affairs.
The resolution was tabled by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Shaista Pervaiz Malik, and passed by a majority in the National Assembly amid a noisy protest of the opposition benchers.
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Through the resolution, the NA expressed sorrow over the US House Resolution 901 which demanded a “full and independent investigation of claims of interference or irregularities” after expressing concerns over the February 8 polls.
The US resolution was completely against fact, it stated, adding that Pakistan would not tolerate any kind of interference in its internal affairs as an independent and sovereign state.
The lower house of parliament also demanded the US to maintain bilateral ties with Pakistan on mutual respect.
MNA Shaista further said that the resolution passed by the US House of Representatives was a clear “interference in internal affairs” despite being non-binding.
She also slammed the opposition lawmakers for “encouraging an attack on Pakistan’s sovereignty” after a country dared to “intervene in our internal matters”.
The US House was apparently taking notice of the “expression of supporting democracy in Pakistan”, she read, adding that the US resolution was the result of “incomplete information and misunderstanding” regarding Pakistan’s political and electoral process.
It was a sorrowful development that the US resolution rejected the independent exercise of voting rights of millions of Pakistanis in the February 8 nationwide polls, the resolution read.
MNA Shaista, via her resolution, urged the US Congress to play a constructive role in cementing Pakistan-US bilateral ties and focusing on the two-sided interests of both countries.
She further urged the US Congress to pay attention to serious human rights violations in Gaza and Kashmir.
