KARACHI: US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter has said human rights violations in Balochistan are a major issue that need to be addressed urgently.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the BBC Urdu Service in Karachi, Munter said American intentions were clear and above board on the Balochistan issue, but pressed that this was an area that the Pakistani government needed to address seriously, and one which the US felt should be openly discussed. He said America had no intentions of overstepping.
The ambassador said that the debate over the Balochistan issue in the US Congress should not be misconstrued as having sinister motives, since it was normal and routine for all sorts of issues to crop up during their debates.
Recently, Pakistan reacted strongly to the raising of the Balochistan issue in the US Congress, with Minister of Interior Rehman Malik terming this part of a wider international conspiracy against Pakistan.
Munter said wherever there were human rights violations, the US government was automatically concerned and would raise these concerns with its foreign office. He reiterated during the interview that the US supports a democratic process in Pakistan, said that parliament is supreme in all matters of state.
On the subject of Mansoor Ijaz, Munter said that the memogate scandal was an internal matter that the Pakistani government was dealing with, and he hoped the matter would be smoothly dealt with.
When asked if America would support an elected Imran Khan, Munter replied, ìI have met Imran Khan, and we have discussed issues at hand as well as his future hopes and aspirations for Pakistan. We are ëopení with him the way we are ëopení with the current government.î
He also said that following the drawdown of US troops in Afghanistan, America hopes to continue its close relations with Pakistan, particularly working to strengthen and improve bilateral relations.
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