Islamabad: The Pakistan army has demanded foolproof security for former president Pervez Musharraf after he returned to the country amidst death threats from the Taliban. He is in the country for the May elections, but the US Ambassador to Islamabad said he is unlikely to make an impact.
"I don't see this as a terribly large or significant event. I could be surprised, but I don't see this as terribly consequential," the US Ambassador to Pakistan, Richard Olson, told a Washington audience on Monday while responding to questions on the return of the former Pak General, who ruled the country for a decade.
Musharraf returned to Pakistan on Sunday after a four year self-imposed exile, during which he spent most of his time in England and Dubai and speaking tour in the United States. "On the question of Musharraf, it's up to the Pakistanis to address the question. He may have some legal issues to address, and that's for him to address with the judiciary. But my Pakistani friends tell me he doesn't have a great deal of political support," Olson said in response to a question.
On Musharraf, Olson said, the United States does not have a position, a stand taken consistently by the Obama Administration. "We've seen the news that he's returned. It's really up to the people of Pakistan to decide who their representatives should be, and so we really refer you to the Government of Pakistan," the State Department spokesperson, Patrick Ventrell, told reporters at a news conference when asked about his return to Pakistan.
"When it comes to Pakistani politics, we'll leave it to the people of Pakistan to make decisions about their political leadership," the White House Deputy Press Secretary, Josh Earnest, told reporters on Monday.
(With Additional Inputs From PTI)
Comments
0 comment