ISLAMABAD: A total of 160 Pakistani lawmakers have written to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in which they expressed serious concerns over a letter from US Congress members to President Joe Biden that called for the release of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan.
The lawmakers expressed their concerns about the interference by the US Congressmen in the “internal matters” of the country.
The Pakistani lawmakers, including notable figures such as Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Naveed Qamar, Mustafa Kamal, Aasiya Naz Tanoli, and Khalid Magsi expressed deep concerns over the perceived interference.
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They called upon Prime Minister Sharif to formally convey to the US Congress that Pakistan is currently grappling with democratic challenges, which have been compounded by what they labelled as disruptive politics.
The letter criticises PTI and its founder for allegedly fostering political violence, disrespecting democratic norms, and orchestrating a negative media campaign against Pakistan’s institutions.
The parliamentarians highlighted incidents such as the May 9 riots, mob attacks on government buildings, and the founder’s encouragement of chaos from jail. The letter notes that the PTI founder has used social media to incite “digital terrorism” and cited US- and UK-based elements who allegedly fuel this narrative.
“We are writing to express our concerns about the unwarranted and inaccurate commentary on Pakistan’s internal politics by 62 members of the US House of Representatives,” the letter states, describing the US lawmakers’ position as a “skewed view of realities.”
A letter signed by 160 Pakistani parliamentarians, including top leaders of major political parties, urged that the US lawmakers’ appeal to President Biden amounts to “external interference” and unfairly amplifies the political narrative of a single party at the expense of Pakistan’s state institutions and other political groups.
US lawmakers urge Biden to secure IK release
The response comes after US lawmakers urged President Biden to use “substantial leverage with Pakistan’s government to secure the release of political prisoners including former prime minister Khan”.
The letter also made an appeal for US embassy officials to visit Khan who is currently behind bars at Adiala Jail and has been imprisoned at the said facility for more than a year now.
While referring to the May 9, 2023, violence, they wrote that Khan incited riots and vandalism, besides provoking a mob to attack Parliament, and the buildings of state-run television and Radio Pakistan.
They alleged the PTI founder has paralysed the country twice by using political violence in August 2014 when he had staged a sit-in in Islamabad and May 2022. They claimed that Imran Khan, who has been detained for several months in various cases, continued to incite his supporters from jail to create unrest and violence in the country.
The Pakistani lawmakers further said that the PTI founder used social media to promote “digital terrorism”, unrest, and chaos. It also highlights that some individuals, who are residing in the US and the UK, are playing a role in spreading Imran Khan’s negative campaign.
Last week, around 60 Democratic lawmakers from the US House of Representatives wrote to President Joe Biden urging him to pressure Pakistan into releasing Imran Khan, the jailed founding chairman of the PTI.
“We write today to urge you to use the United States’ substantial leverage with Pakistan’s government to secure the release of political prisoners including former Prime Minister Khan and curtail widespread human rights abuses,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter on Wednesday.
This is not the first time legislators in Islamabad and Washington have come face to face as previously US lawmakers, in June 2024, had passed “House Resolution 901” by a massive majority — with 368 members in the House of Representatives voting in its favour — which called for urging an impartial probe into the claims of irregularities during the February 8 general elections in the country.
The resolution was swiftly responded to by Pakistani lawmakers who passed a motion condemning the US resolution terming it “contrary to facts” and “interference in its internal affairs”.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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