Journalist questions US ‘internal matter’ response to Imran’s arrest, compares to other countries

Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US State Department, was recently questioned about his country’s “subdued and muted” response to former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrest.

In a recent press briefing, a journalist asked Miller about whether he thought Khan got a fair trial. To this, Miller responded by saying, “We think it’s an internal matter for Pakistan. And we continue to call for the respect of democratic principles, human rights and rule of law in Pakistan, as we do around the world.”

The journalist then said, “Some people describe that response as subdued and muted,” asking if that was because of Imran Khan’s criticism of the USA when he was Prime Minister.

“I think our response to this arrest and his previous arrest have been consistent,” Miller replied, repeating again that it was an internal matter for Pakistan.

Another journalist then asks, “How is that different from the Navalny case,” referring to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for allegedly funding an extremist organisation. The US had strongly condemned Navalny’s detention.

Miller replied, “There are times when the case is so obviously unfounded that the United States believes it should say something about the matter. We have not made that determination here.”