US again avoids question linked to Imran Khan’s incarceration

US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce has given a neutral response to a question linked to former premier Imran Khan’s incarceration, stating that she will not comment on the internal frameworks of another country.

During the weekly media briefing on Wednesday, Frontier Post journalist Jalil Afridi, before asking his question, stated that the most popular Pakistani leader and biggest charity collector, Imran Khan, has been languishing in jail for the last two years, and everything in the country, whether it is the democracy or human rights, has been shattered in previous two years.

He then asked, “President Trump was talking a lot about Pakistan before the elections [the US Presidential], and thousands of his new voters in the US and millions of Pakistanis are expecting him to take some sort of action with regard to that country. Do you have anything in mind or have you heard anything the president says?”

Bruce responded, “I’m not going to comment on the internal frameworks of another country,” instructing the journalist to reach out to the White House regarding President Trump’s actions and intentions about Pakistan.

“I do think… President Trump has made it clear, as has Rubio [US Secretary of State], that we care about the planet, we care about our neighbours, we care about what’s happening on the globe, and that's been evidenced by our actions,” the US State Department spokesperson concluded.

It is not the first time that the US State Department has avoided providing a crystal answer regarding former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s incarceration, as earlier this month, Bruce had outrightly sidestepped Jalil’s question about Imran Khan’s imprisonment during a briefing.

The journalist had earlier questioned, “Is the President aware that the most popular leader of Pakistan, Imran Khan, has been in jail for the last three years now, and a lot of atrocities have happened? Is the president at all interested in paying a little attention to Pakistan?”

 
The U.S. State Department spokesperson, while sidestepping the question, said, “I will answer that with noting that in his address to Congress, the president announced the arrest of ISIS-K operative, planned and responsible for killing 13 brave American service members and over 160 Afghan citizens at Abbey Gate."

 
The spokesperson further said that the US extended gratitude to the government of Pakistan, adding that the US did collaborate in bringing Mohammad Sharifullah to justice.

On March 4, speaking to a joint session of Congress, President Trump thanked Pakistan for its role in arresting the alleged mastermind behind the 2021 Kabul Airport bombing, Sharifuulah, also known as Jafar.