US supports free, fair, transparent elections in Pakistan: State Department

WASHINGTON: The United States supports free, fair and transparent elections in Pakistan, a US State Department spokesperson said here on Tuesday, expressing hope that the electoral reform law passed in 2017 will facilitate a peaceful transfer of power after the polls due in July.

“The United States along with other international partners has supported Pakistan’s implementation of its historic 2017 electoral reforms law,” said spokesperson Heather Nauert at a regular briefing.

The Election Bill, 2017 was passed by the National Assembly in August under the PML- government and is seen as a major achievement for electoral reforms in Pakistan. The law among others empowers the Election commission of Pakistan to operate independently.

Spokesperson Nauert said the law would be put into effect for the upcoming elections, and expressed the hope that it would help in smooth transfer of power to the elected government as a result of the July elections.

“We hope that the new comprehensive and transparent legal framework facilitates the peaceful transfer of civilian power to a democratically elected government,” she said.

Responding to a question, the spokesperson said she was not aware if the US would send any observers on the ground but said it tends to support international organizations that do participate as observers.

The PML-N government is due to step down on May 31 and hand over the rein to the interim government which will oversee the elections.

Under its Quaid, Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, PML-N came to power after a landslide victory in the 2013 elections. The PML-N government took the charge at a time when the country was on the brink of default on its external commitments.

The government became the first to successfully complete an IMF loan program that helped Pakistan avert the balance of payment crisis and put the economy back on rail.

The IMF in a country report this year acknowledged that the economic growth that averaged around 3 percent between 2008-2013, has continued to strengthen and could reach 5.6 percent this fiscal year.

The World Bank in its report said that Pakistan’s economic growth increased from 5.4 percent in 2017 to 5.8 percent in 2018, supported by major infrastructure projects as a result of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Pakistan has ranked No.1 in South Asia in private infrastructure investment, becoming one of the world’s top five private participations in infrastructure investment.