Pakistan terms US concerns on elections "misunderstanding"; Imran Khan's party denounces remarks on ciphergate

Islamabad [Pakistan], March 22 : Pakistan's Foreign Office on Thursday said that concerns raised over the February 8 general elections during a US Congressional hearing "reflected a misunderstanding" of the country's domestic situation and electoral laws, Dawn reported.
Responding to a query during a weekly media briefing, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, "Some statements made there (during the hearing) reflected [a] misunderstanding of Pakistan's domestic situation and electoral laws."
According to state broadcaster Radio Pakistan, the spokesperson expressed the hope to "engage in meaningful discussion with the United States to address these misunderstandings."
This comes after a senior United States Department of State official raised concerns over "electoral abuse and violence" in the lead-up to Pakistan's general election last month.
A subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the US House of Representatives held a hearing on the "future of democracy in Pakistan and the US-Pakistan relationship" on Wednesday, where, Donald Lu, the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian affairs, said President Joe Biden's administration identified a series of "irregularities" in the conduct of the February 8 elections.
"We were particularly concerned about electoral abuses and violence that happened in the weeks leading up to the polls," Lu said, pointing to the attacks on police, politicians, and political gatherings by terrorist groups; harassment and abuse of journalists, particularly female journalists, by political party supporters; and lastly, "several political leaders were disadvantaged by the inability to register specific candidates and political parties."
Lu cited election monitors who said on polling day that they were barred from observing vote tabulation in "more than half of the constituencies across the country."
The US lawmaker also informed the members of Congress that authorities shut down mobile data services despite a high court order not to interrupt internet services on election day.
On the other hand, Imran Khan-founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) termed Donald Lu's statement on ciphergate a "lie", and demanded reopening inquiry into the controversy, Geo News reported.
"I've held a detailed meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan today," PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar told journalists outside Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail on Thursday.
On Thursday, in response to a question on the cipher case during the hearing, Lu said: "I want to be very clear on this point. These allegations -- this conspiracy theory -- is a lie. It is a complete falsehood. I have reviewed the press reporting related to this, what is called the cipher in Pakistan, the alleged leaked diplomatic cable from the embassy here."
Khan and his PTI government were removed from power in April 2022 through a parliamentary vote of no confidence, a first in Pakistan's history. The US has repeatedly denied Khan's allegation that it was involved in any conspiracy to remove him from office.