WASHINGTON: The United States said on Monday that it values its ‘long-standing’ cooperation with Pakistan but will not like to comment on the regime change in Islamabad.

“We are closely following developments in Pakistan,” a spokesperson for the US State Department said when asked for comment on Shehbaz Sharif’s election as the country’s new prime minister.

“The United States has no position on and does not comment on Pakistan’s internal process,” the US official added when reminded how during the weekend the Pakistani parliament voted out Imran Khan and elected an opposition leader as the new prime minister.

“The United States values our long-standing cooperation with Pakistan and has always viewed a prosperous and democratic Pakistan as critical to US interests,” said the spokesperson. “And this remains unchanged.”

A prestigious US publication, Foreign Policy, however, noted that while former prime minister “Imran Khan is out, it’s not his last innings”. The report noted that the ousted Pakistani leader “vowed to fight on”, as Mr Sharif replaced him on Monday morning.