USA: Imran Khan's arrest is Pakistan's 'internal matter'

(Patria) - Imran Khan's arrest is Pakistan's 'internal matter', said a spokesperson for the US State Department, refusing to take a stance on the legal problems of the former prime minister and frequent US critic, Reuters reports.

Police arrested Khan in Lahore on Saturday after a court sentenced him to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts. The conviction could prevent the leader of Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf party from participating in national elections later this year. Khan denies the charges and claims the government and military have imposed fabricated charges on him.

'We believe this is an internal matter for Pakistan,' State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at a briefing, when asked if the US thought Khan had received a fair trial.

'There are occasionally cases (around the world) that are so clearly baseless that the United States believes it should say something about the issue. We have not made that decision here,' Miller added.

Khan had initially claimed that his removal from office in last year's parliamentary elections was supported by Washington and orchestrated by top Pakistani generals. Washington and the military have denied this.

Khan has been a critic of US foreign policy for almost his entire political career. As a rising politician and former cricket star, he was one of the staunchest critics of US drone strikes targeting militants along the Afghan border, which he called extrajudicial killings and a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty.

He celebrated the United States' defeat in Afghanistan when the Taliban took power in 2021 after the withdrawal of NATO and US forces, describing it as Afghanistan breaking 'the chains of slavery'. Khan (70) is the most popular leader in Pakistan, according to opinion polls. A separate brief arrest in May on another set of corruption charges triggered deadly riots, which ended when the Supreme Court ordered his release, Reuters recalls.