Over 60 US House of Representatives members seek release of Imran, others

WASHINGTON: More than 60 members of the US House of Representatives have called on President Biden to get political prisoners released from Pakistani jails, including former premier Imran Khan.

In a letter to President Biden, the House Representatives stated, “We echo the calls for Khan’s immediate release and for an end to widespread arbitrary detention of party members and activists in Pakistan,” adding, “We ask your administration to urgently secure the guarantees from the Pakistani government for Khan’s safety and well-being and urge US embassy officials to visit him in prison.”

The letter also called on the president “to centre human rights in US policy towards Pakistan.”

“We join our Pakistani American constituents, as well as community leaders and elected officials throughout our country and around the world, in standing in solidarity with the people of Pakistan and their struggle to rebuild a genuinely representative democracy,” it said.

This is the first letter from US members of Congress calling for Imran Khan and others release, as a follow up to the House Resolution 901, that called for the US to support democracy and human rights in Pakistan.

The letter also criticized the Pakistani government’s actions like crackdown on the social media and the internet.

The letter is authored by Congressman Greg Casar (TX-35) and co-led by Congressman Jim McGovern (MA-02) and Congresswoman Summer Lee (PA-12) and signed by other known members like Barbara Lee, Brad Sherman, Raja Krishnamurti, Judy Chu, Maxine Waters, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rao Khana, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar.