ISLAMABAD – Former US envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad continued toremain up in arms against the Pakistani government as he shared anothertweet, despite being told to avoid commenting on the country’s internalmatters.
Foreign Office earlier reacted strongly to Khalilzad’s comments andmaintained that Pakistan did not need unsolicited advice on the challengesit faces.
Despite being told to avoid comments, the former diplomat again shared atweet, expressing distress over Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah’s remarksagainst ousted prime minister Imran Khan, calling it incitement to violence.
He said the interior minister’s statement that ‘either Imran Khan exists orwe is shocking and should be rejected by all god-fearing and law-abidingPakistanis.
Khalilzad called these remarks an incitement to violence against thepopulist leader, calling on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to publiclydisassociate himself from Sanaullah’s comments. He linked such thinkingwith Pakistan’s dysfunctionality. “If that does not change, the countrywill continue to be mired in crisis,” he cautioned.
Zalamay Khalilzad’s comments do not represent US foreign policy
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Zalmay Khalilzad has sparked new debate as he cautioned the Pakistangovernment about the potential consequences of ousting Imran Khan fromnational politics.
His comments prompted a strong reaction from Islamabad and now thePrincipal Deputy Spokesperson at the US Department of State cleared the airabout the statements of foreign policy expert.
In a press briefing, Vedant Patel of the US State Department saidWashington has nothing to do with Zalmay Khalilzad’s statements aboutPakistani politics.
Patel responded to a query when he was asked that Khalilzad’s comments arekind of expressing the sentiments of the US Government. To which, Mr. Patelsaid Khalilzad is a private citizen and does not speak for thisadministration. His activities on social platforms are done in his privatecapacity and do not represent US foreign policy in any manner.
