WASHINGTON, Feb 15 (APP):The United States has called the efforts being made to form a coalition government in Pakistan in the wake of general elections as the country’s “internal matter,” saying it looks forward to working with the government that the Pakistani people have elected.

“Look, that is ultimately an internal matter,” State Department Spokesperson Mathew Miller told reporters in response to a question about the exclusion of a major political party from the coalition government.

“You see this in a number of countries that have parliamentary systems of government, where no party has established a majority– you see the kind of coalitions that are formed,” he said at his daily press briefing on Wednesday.
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“Ultimately that’s not a decision for the United States to make. It’s a decision for Pakistan to make.”

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Shehbaz Sharif will be the nominee for Pakistan’s next premier to lead a new coalition alliance formed between different parties, including Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

He said it was the US response to questions of election irregularities not only in Pakistan but anywhere else in the world, adding that the US would continue to call for the probe.

“But at the same time, it’s clear that the elections in Pakistan were competitive, and we look forward to working with the government, once it’s formed, that the people of Pakistan elected,” he said.

On Tuesday, the White House also called for ensuring a transparent election process in Pakistan and said there was a need to respect the will of the Pakistani people.

US President Joe Biden was aware of the election results in Pakistan, White House Press Secretary White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said at her news briefing.

She said that the US was proud to stand with like-minded democracies as it “consistently conveys clearly, both publicly and privately, to the Pakistani government and across the Pakistani political spectrum, the need to respect the will of the Pakistani people, and ensure a transparent election process is critical and is obviously important.”

“Millions of Pakistanis turned out to vote last week, including a record number of Pakistani women, members of religious and ethnic minority groups, and young voters,” she said, congratulating the Pakistani people for participating in the elections, including poll workers, civil society members, journalists and election observers who have protected the country’s democratic and electoral institutions.