US watches carefully as Pakistan’s political crisis deepens

Deutsche Welle :
US President Joe Biden’s administration which had maintained a safe distance from the former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan even when he was in power has so far avoided getting involved in the political dispute that has pitched Khan against a coalition government of more than a dozen political parties and the country’s powerful military.
Every time the issue is raised at an official briefing in Washington, the answer highlights two points: the United States has no favorites in this fight, and it wants the crisis to be resolved in accordance with the Pakistani constitution.
Even while rejecting Khan’s claim that the Biden administration played a key role in bringing down his government, Washington has carefully avoided making comments that would be seen as opposing him.
US officials have also avoided referring to Khan’s statements supporting Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers, although the US media never shied away from highlighting his alleged sympathy for the Islamic fundamentalist group.
At a recent briefing, a spokesman for the US State Department emphasized the importance of allowing the people of Pakistan to elect their future leadership while commenting on the current situation.
The question put to the spokesperson, Vedant Patel, not only sought his opinion on the “political chaos” in the South Asian nation but also claimed that Pakistani Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had issued death threats to Imran Khan in a live TV show.
This was an obvious attempt to encourage him to say something that could
then be underlined as an expression of support for Khan. But Patel evaded the trap.