WASHINGTON: The United States has said that no extra-constitutional transfer of power in Pakistan was acceptable and warned that those “attempting to impose these changes” should not do so.

“Nawaz Sharif was elected and is prime minister. There is a government that was elected and is in place,” State Department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf said at a briefing in Washington.

“We support the constitutional and electoral process in Pakistan...That was a process they followed, an election they had, and we are focused on working with Pakistan,” said Harf.

“And we do not support any extra-constitutional changes to that democratic system or the people attempting to impose them.”

Protests by workers of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek with their demands for the prime minister's resignation have created a political crisis in the country.

The crisis has also drawn a reaction from the country's military, which has urged the parties to engage in dialogue for a settlement of the issue.