The United States administration has reiterated that Pakistan is critical to its interests, which remain unchanged regardless of who is leading the country.
“We support the peaceful upholding of Constitutional democratic principles. We don’t support one political party over another and we certainly support the principles of rule of law, equal justice under the law,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in response to a query during a weekly press briefing on Monday.
“We value our longstanding cooperation with Pakistan. [We] have always viewed a prosperous and democratic Pakistan as critical to US interests that remain unchanged regardless of who the leadership is,” she added.
The US administration's comments came after the National Assembly elected PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister of the country. The united opposition deposed Imran Khan as premier in a post-midnight National Assembly session on Saturday.
Moreover, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian in a press briefing said Beijing has noted the political change in Pakistan. “As a close neighbour and an iron-clad friend of Pakistan, China sincerely hopes that all parties of Pakistan can stay united and jointly defend national stability and development,” he said.
The spokesperson stressed that no matter how the political situation might change in Pakistan, China would “unswervingly” follow Pakistan's policy of friendship. “We believe the political change in Pakistan will not affect the overall China-Pakistan relations.”