Washington questions Pakistan’s 2024 election

What happened

Pakistan voted on 8 February 2024 amid restrictions on Imran Khan's party, whose candidates ran as independents. The United States, together with the United Kingdom and the European Union, expressed concern about restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly and urged that allegations of interference be investigated; the State Department spokesman said Washington called for such investigations wherever irregularities were alleged, while also describing the elections as competitive and saying it looked forward to working with the government the people had elected^1,2. Shehbaz Sharif returned as prime minister.

On 26 June 2024 the House of Representatives passed H.Res. 901, introduced by Representatives Rich McCormick and Dan Kildee, by 368 votes to 7. The non-binding resolution urged Pakistan to uphold democratic institutions, human rights and the rule of law and called for a full and independent investigation of claims of interference in the election^3,4. Pakistan's Foreign Office said the resolution stemmed from an incomplete understanding of Pakistan's political situation and electoral process and did not align with the positive dynamics of the relationship, and Pakistan's National Assembly passed a counter-resolution rejecting it⁵.

Why it mattered

The episode showed the growing weight of Pakistani-American diaspora politics in Congress and the extent to which Pakistan's internal politics - and Imran Khan's imprisonment - had become a factor in US–Pakistan relations. The executive branch, by contrast, continued to engage the Sharif government on economic and security issues.