Washington: Commenting on the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on Monday said that Pakistani courts should decide his fate.
“When it comes to this law in Pakistan and this case, our position is for the Pakistani courts to decide,” Miller said, explaining the US position on the case.
A US official said it was in response to reporters’ questions about Khan’s acquittal in the encryption case and his prison sentence for the crime.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday convicted Khan and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the infamous cipher case involving allegations of misuse and misappropriation of classified diplomatic documents.
Meanwhile, Khan was sentenced to seven years in prison on February 3 in an “un-Islamic marriage” trial at Adiala Jail against him and his wife, Bushra Bibi. The pair were also fined $500,000 each.
A trial court on February 3 sentenced the PTI founder and his wife Bushra Bibi to seven years in prison.
The press secretary further explained the State Department’s point of view: “When we look at different countries, we make decisions based on the situation at hand.”
Miller said the US has repeatedly raised the issue of Khan. “The case against him is something that will be decided by the Pakistani courts (and) I am saying according to the law and the constitution,” he said.
