A top US official on Friday called it an “encouraging” development after the embattled Pakistani government announced early elections.
The coalition government’s term ends on August 12, but officials said they may shorten their term and dissolve assemblies earlier than scheduled – around August 8.
“We are looking forward to free, fair and peaceful elections,” US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Elizabeth Horst told Pakistani journalists in Washington.
“It is for the people of Pakistan to decide who they want to elect. We do not support one party against another. We support the rule of law and democracy in Pakistan.”
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller – when asked about the election last week – maintained that the US supports the peaceful maintenance of basic democratic principles such as “free media, free speech, free assembly” in Pakistan.
Election Commission of Pakistan Special Secretary Zafar Iqbal has said that if the National Assembly is dissolved after completing its term, the ECP will hold elections before October 11.
Horst, who heads the Pakistan Bureau at the US State Department, also said last week that the US would work with any government elected by Pakistanis as the term of the current rulers comes to an end.
“We have no position on any political candidate or party,” Horst said during a conference on the future of Pakistan-US relations in Houston.
The term of Parliament constitutionally expires on August 12. Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb, however, said that no date has been fixed for the general elections.
“No decision has yet been taken on the dissolution of parliament,” he said in a tweet, adding that an official announcement on the election date would be made after consultations among all coalition partners.
Elections are approaching after months of political and economic turmoil, even with uncertainty that the vote could be postponed for at least a year.
The caretaker government has 90 days to hold general elections when the government hands over power early, but it would have had 60 days if the government had handed over power on time.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition took power in April 2022 after ousting his predecessor Imran Khan in a no-confidence vote in parliament.
Since then, Khan has been campaigning for snap elections, holding protests across the country, and raising tensions with the government.
