US doesn’t play role in choosing Pak leaders: official

WASHINGTON: The U.S. Department of State on Monday reiterated that America plays no role in choosing political leaders in Pakistan.

“The United States does not play any role in choosing the leaders of Pakistan,” the department’s spokesperson said during the news briefing. “We engage with the leadership decided by the Pakistani people and we will continue to engage with the government of Pakistan on all these issues.”

Responding to a question about the ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the spokesperson said that the U.S. supports diplomatic resolution to all the various issues between those two countries. He further said that the U.S. has designated former members of the Afghan parliament and their immediate family members which renders them generally ineligible to enter into the United States. “Because of their involvement in significant corruption, the [U.S.] Treasury Department has also designated these individuals under the Magnitsky sanctions program for their extensive role in trans-national corruption,” the spokesperson said, adding that the Treasury has also designated a network of 44 companies connected to the banned former Afghan parliamentarians for their role.