In a global embarrassment for Pakistan, US Vice President JD Vance said the delay in releasing the details of the peace deal with Iran was partly due to press freedom standards in Pakistan.
Vance made the remarks while speaking on a podcast. "We actually wanted to get it out. I think part of the misalignment here is that in the Pakistani and Qatari systems, they don't quite have the First Amendment and freedom of the press," he said.
What is the First Amendment?
The First Amendment refers to a foundational part of the US Constitution that protects five fundamental freedoms: freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government. It prohibits the government from censoring citizens, establishing a state religion, or prohibiting peaceful protests.
Notably, Pakistan ranks 153rd out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index.
For the unversed, US President Donald Trump announced the interim peace deal on June 15, while the official text of the MoU was released two days later.
Pakistan had presented the US-Iran deal as a major diplomatic achievement. Earlier this week, while announcing the agreement, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said an official signing ceremony would be held in Switzerland on June 19.
However, Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the MoU digitally on Thursday.
