- Foreign Office reiterates Islamabad’s resolve to work towards building a vibrant democratic polity
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday said that it had taken “note” of statements from “certain countries” and organizations on the general elections held in Pakistan and “surprised by surprised by the negative tone”.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office, in a statement said, “We are surprised by the negative tone of some of these statements, which neither take into account the complexity of the electoral process nor acknowledge the free and enthusiastic exercise of the right to vote by tens of millions of Pakistanis.”
Certain Western capitals on Friday questioned the “undue restrictions” put in place during polling for the February 8 elections in Pakistan and expressed concern over allegations of vote rigging. They pledged to work with whoever formed the next government.
The United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, in their separate statements, called upon the relevant Pakistani authorities to ensure a timely and full investigation of all the reported irregularities in Thursday’s elections.
The FO spokesperson said: “these statements ignore the undeniable fact that Pakistan has held general elections, peacefully and successfully, while dealing with serious security threats resulting primarily from foreign sponsored terrorism.”
“Some statements are not even factual. There was no nationwide internet shutdown. Only mobile services were suspended for the day to avoid terrorist incidents on the polling day. The elections exercise has demonstrated that the concerns of many commentators were misplaced,” the FO statement claimed.
The MOFA spokesperson said: “Pakistan held the elections as part of its commitment to building a stable and democratic society. While we value constructive advice from our friends, making negative commentary even before the completion of electoral process is neither constructive nor objective.”
The statement reiterated the government’s resolve that Pakistan would continue to work towards building a vibrant democratic polity. “Every election and peaceful transition of power brings us closer to that goal”, it added, elaborating that Pakistan do this not on account of the concerns expressed by others but because that is the aspirations of “our people and the vision of our founding fathers.”
