- It is said that this is a domestic issue of Pakistani people.
- On Ukraine arms deal, Kirby says let Pakistan speak for what it is doing.
- It is said that some countries do not want their support for Ukraine to attract much public attention.
ISLAMABAD: The United States has clarified that it has no connection with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protests organized outside the White House in Washington DC. news Reported on Wednesday.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby at a media briefing rejected the suggestion, implicit in a journalist’s question, that there was any link between the removal of PTI Chairman Imran Khan and the protests in Washington and some kind of US action.
“This is a domestic issue for the Pakistani people and the Pakistan government can talk about it,” he said.
To a question about Pakistan’s arms supplies to Ukraine, Kirby said, “Let Pakistan speak about what it is doing for Ukraine.”
He said that more than 50 countries are providing arms as well as financial and moral support to Ukraine and the US allows them to speak about what they are doing.
“Some countries do not want the support they are providing to Ukraine to draw too much public attention. So we respect that,” Kirby said.
FO termed the report on arms sales as nonsense
Kirby’s comments on the alleged arms sales come after the Foreign Office rejected a foreign media report last month which claimed that Pakistan was allegedly selling arms to Ukraine to get the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package. .
In its “baseless and fabricated” report, Intercept – an online news organization – claimed that Islamabad was secretly selling arms to Kiev under a deal with the Washington-based lender.
The report claimed, “The purpose of these arms sales was to supply the Ukrainian army, thereby forcing Pakistan to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.”
Responding to media queries about the false report, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch categorically rejected the story as “baseless and fabricated”.
“The IMF Standby Arrangement for Pakistan was successfully negotiated between Pakistan and the IMF to implement difficult but necessary economic reforms. Giving any other color to these talks is disingenuous,” the spokesperson said.
He further said that Islamabad maintains a policy of strict neutrality in the dispute between Ukraine and Russia and in this context, does not provide them with any arms and ammunition.
“Pakistan’s defense exports are always accompanied by strict end-user requirements,” he said.
