The White House has expressed its concern regarding reports of voter intimidation and suppression during the recently held general elections in Pakistan.
John Kirby, the Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council, stated during a news conference that the administration is closely monitoring the situation and is troubled by the reports of intimidation and voter suppression emerging from Pakistan.
Kirby mentioned, “We’re concerned, and we share our concerns about some of the reports that we’ve heard coming out of Pakistan in terms of intimidation, voter suppression, that kind of thing. And so, we are watching this very, very closely.”
He further noted that votes are still being tallied, and international monitors are scrutinising the tallying process.
In response to a question, Kirby added, “I’m not getting ahead of that process,” indicating that they are awaiting the results of the ongoing tallying before making further assessments.
Meanwhile, Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, who serves as the co-chair of the House China committee, expressed his deep concern about numerous reports suggesting the involvement of Pakistan’s military in vote-rigging and violence to manipulate the results of the elections.
Krishnamoorthi raised these concerns on the House floor, highlighting months of alleged targeted suppression, politically motivated arrests, and brutal intimidation tactics leading up to the elections.
Krishnamoorthi emphasised the importance of ensuring that the results of Pakistan’s elections genuinely reflect the will of its people rather than its military.
He urged the State Department to delay recognising a winner until a comprehensive review of these allegations is conducted. Krishnamoorthi stressed the need to count every vote fairly and accurately while preventing violence at all costs.
