Striving to get Imran out of jail, US-based Pakpac backs Trump in polls

WASHINGTON: The Pakistani-American Public Affairs Committee (Pakpac) announced that it would back Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for the upcoming US elections as opposed to Democrats.

“We are proud to endorse Donald Trump in the 2024 Presidential election,” the Packpac handle posted on X, adding, “After extensive meetings with the Trump & Harris campaigns, we believe the former president is the candidate who will improve US-Pakistan relations, secure the release of all wrongfully imprisoned political prisoners in Pakistan, and work towards reversal of Pakistan’s dangerous democratic backsliding.”

Pakpac, according to its own website, educates Pakistani-Americans on pressing policy debates and provides them a unique platform to influence these debates. It takes credit for the famous US House Resolution 901 that was passed on June 25 which “expressed support for democracy and human rights in Pakistan.” The bill urged Pakistan to uphold democratic institutions and human rights, and called on the American president to work with Pakistan to uphold democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.

In the past many weeks, Pakpac geared up its efforts again to get the jailed PTI leader Imran Khan out by urging its members and others to call their congressional office holders and press them to “make Biden take action on Pakistan.” The appeal further says that “despite the resolutions passage, political imprisonments remain, the administration has taken no action, and the state of Pakistani democratic freedom continues to deteriorate.”

Late last month, Pakpac also arranged a “Day on the Hill for Democracy in Pakistan” inviting activists to “brief members of Congress and their staff on the perilous situation for democracy in Pakistan.”

In the Trump endorsement statement sent out on social media, Pakpac’s national board stated: “During his presidency, Donald Trump met with the then democratically elected Prime Minister of Pakistan during his visit to the United States, fostering dialogue between the two nations,” and that American officials traveled to Pakistan for direct talks. It claimed that those were the “efforts we have not seen under the Biden/Harris administration.”

“In contrast, the Biden/Harris administration has not demonstrated the same commitment to bilateral relations. Under President Biden, the Pakistani government was pushed into a legislative coup against the popular and democratically elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, and the administration has done nothing since to secure the release of the former prime minister and other political prisoners,’ the Pakpac statement alleges. The former PM was removed after a no-confidence motion against him in Parliament in April 2022.

The statement further says that after tireless discussions with the Harris campaign, “we fear these policies would persist under a Harris presidency, further straining relations between our two nations.” “We believe that Mr Trump’s leadership will promote stronger diplomatic and economic ties, and ensure that Pakistani-American interests are represented at the highest levels of government,” the statement concluded.