EDITORIAL: Diaspora Pakistanis disturbed by our increasingly intolerant politics have effectively been using their new-found clout with their host governments to stop the main opposition party PTI’s leadership and activists getting the rough end of the stick.
Some 20 British MPs from across party lines recently urged Foreign Secretary David Lammy to push for the release of former prime minister Imran Khan.
Calling his detention as “politically motivated”, they expressed the apprehension that he might face trial in military courts. The Secretary has responded to their concerns in detail, saying there is “no indication” that he will be tried in military courts, and that “while Pakistan’s judicial processes are a domestic matter the authorities need to act in line with their international obligations and with respect for fundamental freedoms, including the right to a fair trial due process and humane detention”. The UK continues to engage at senior levels with Pakistan government “on such critical matters”, he added.
It may be recalled that a while ago, some 62 Democratic members of US Congress had written a similar letter to President Joe Biden.
Now in a pretty strong indictment of our political process a fresh missive signed by 46 Democratic as well as Republican lawmakers raises concerns over “deteriorating human rights” following February 2024 elections, marred by “widespread irregularities, electoral fraud, and state-led suppression” of PTI, urging President Biden to press Pakistani government to release Imran Khan along with other ‘political prisoners’ before the end of his term on January 20.
The missive also cites the findings of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Amnesty International, and other human rights organisations, all of which have called for Khan’s and other jailed PTI leaders’ freedom.
As expected, all this has sparked scathing criticism from the two major partners in the ruling alliance, the PML-N and PPP, accusing the PTI of inviting foreign intervention. They are understandably miffed at these developments. But they should not lose sight of two key factors.
First, it was the Pakistan Public Affairs Committee (PAKPAC) in the US rather than PTI leadership in this country, which had actively been seeking release of Khan and his party’s other incarcerated leaders and supporters.
Second and more importantly, it is the political mess that politicians and certain other forces have repeatedly been creating in this country, leading to foreign interventions.
As many commentators have recalled, in not-too-distant a past, former US president Bill Clinton had interceded to have PML-N’s deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, jailed by military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf, released and flown to safety in Saudi Arabia.
Later, the UK together with the US mediated a deal between the late self-exiled PPP leader Benazir Bhutto and Gen Musharraf, paving the way for her as well as Sharif’s return to Pakistan.
Sadly, little has changed in all these years. Instead of playing by the rules of democratic governance, those at the helm have once again created a situation where outside intervention seems to have become imminent.
Apparently, in a nod to the PAKPAC, during his campaign President-elect Donald Trump in his unique style lavished praise on the incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan more than once describing him as a “good man” and a “handsome, great guy”.
Rather than issuing sanctimonious statements, the ruling alliance needs to focus on resolving the basic contradictions in our political system which, in the first place, create opportunities for foreign interventions.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024