US says it’s aware of May 9 protesters’ trials in military courts

WASHINGTON: US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller has said they are aware of reports of military trials of citizens allegedly involved in the May 9 protest in Pakistan.

Answering a question in a press briefing on Tuesday, he said it was expected that the Pakistani authorities would respect rule of law and democratic norms for all in accordance with the constitution.

Miller further said that authorities were in regular contact with Pakistan’s officials at the highest level for human rights, democracy, projection of journalists and rule of law, for these were priorities for the United States.

To a query if Pakistan had got approval from the US before buying crude Russian oil and if the criterion for approval for every country to trade with Russia was different, he made it clear that every country has to make its own choices keeping in view its energy needs, and that the US has not announced sanctions on Russia’s energy exports. “We coordinate with our allies and partners to mitigate the impact of Russian sales.”

The State Department spokesperson noted that the Russian oil is being sold at a significant discount to market rates, and it has been learnt that the Russian oil price is lower than the price cap determined by the US and its allies.

He said it is our estimate that the lower price has deprived Russia of an additional $100 billion that would go to fund their war machine in Ukraine.