WASHINGTON: The US said on Tuesday the election of next president in Pakistan was the internal matter for the Pakistanis to determine, as it renewed its strong commitment to the wide-ranging ties with the South Asian country.

“With regard to Pakistanís presidency, that is really very much an internal Pakistani matter. The Pakistani people will have to determine who their next president will be,” US State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood said.

He reaffirmed the commitment of Washington to work with the elected Pakistani government in the fight against violent extremism. “The relationship between the United States and Pakistan is very important, we are engaged in very serious efforts to battle extremism in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, and we look forward to continuing our cooperation with the current government in battling extremism,” he added.

Responding to a question whether US Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad was out of line to have contacts with top political leadership in Pakistan, Wood said he would not characterise it any way except to say that Khalilzad “has many contacts in the South Asian region and the Middle East as well, he talks to various leaders, the secretary and the president respect his counsel and you know these are not unusual conversations to have with other leaders.”

He said he would not add anything to his remarks. When asked if Khalilzad muddled the message of Washington to Pakistan, he said: “No, our message to Pakistan is very clear that they are an important ally, we need to work together on a wide range of issues, most notably war against extremism.”

He said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had confidence in Ambassador Khalilzad. The deputy spokesman had nothing to say whether there would be any disciplinary

action against the diplomat, or not.