WASHINGTON: The US responded to Imran Khan, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and a former prime minister, being found guilty in the cipher case. “The prosecution of the former prime minister is a legal matter and we would defer to the Pakistani courts with respect to a legal matter,” US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller said during a weekly press briefing. “Of course we want to see the democratic process unfold in a way that allows broad participation for all parties and respects democratic principles.”

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Nonetheless, he continued, the US abstains from endorsing candidates for public office in Pakistan and does not take a stand on domestic Pakistani issues. We will be keeping an eye on the results of this free and fair election for the following seven to ten days. We want to see a free, equitable, and transparent democratic process; the Pakistani courts should have the final say over legal issues.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the former foreign minister, and the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the former prime minister, were both given 10-year prison terms by a special court considering a cipher case yesterday. The two PTI leaders were charged with planning to use the cipher’s contents for illicit gain.