Press Release
October 23, 2024
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mehlaqa Samdani, (978) 660-2844, or dc.office@changeuspakpolicy.org
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Over 60 U.S. Congressmembers demand U.S. use leverage to free political prisoners in Pakistan and target human rights violating regime officials
More than 60 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent an unprecedented letter to the White House today (PDF), urging immediate U.S. action to address the spiraling human rights crisis in Pakistan. In the letter, the 62 House Democrats requested specific details from the Democratic administration about how the U.S. will use its leverage to free political prisoners — including former prime minister and pro-democracy leader Imran Khan — and requested a timeline for decisions to ensure that those “credibly accused of violating democratic principles and human rights, including Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir,” are subject to visa bans and freezing of their ill-gotten financial assets held abroad.
The letter is the first organized effort in the U.S. Congress to join the calls by international human rights bodies urging freedom for pro-democracy leader Imran Khan and hundreds of political prisoners languishing in Pakistani jails. It comes as Pakistani security forces have harshly repressed widespread peaceful protests that erupted in recent weeks in response to the ongoing incarceration of the nation’s most popular political leader and his family members, including his wife and sisters. The letter also calls on the U.S. to use its “substantial leverage” with Pakistani authorities to “secure the release of political prisoners” and bring an end to the “widespread arbitrary detention of [Khan’s] party members and activists in Pakistan.”
The letter is the latest in an escalating series of actions from the U.S. Congress this year, following elections in Pakistan that many have deemed the most rigged in the country’s history. The letter cites the 368-7 House passage of H. Res. 901 (which called for “the full investigation of fraud or interference in Pakistan’s general elections”), concluding that Pakistani authorities “have not taken meaningful steps to address the widespread and credible allegations of massive electoral fraud,” which, according to the Congressmembers, is further confirmation that the Election Commission of Pakistan and Pakistan’s judiciary are “functionally partisan accessories of the military that cannot credibly be seen as independent, democratic institutions.”
More broadly, the signatories assess that there has been “a clear turn towards authoritarianism” in Pakistan, citing widely condemned internet censorship, government surveillance of activists, and a growth in transnational repression targeting the families of activists based abroad. The Congressmembers concur with experts who assess that Pakistan’s current political system amounts to “military rule with civilian facade,” with the government losing sight of governing by “making political repression its singular focus.”
The letter was led by a diverse trio including Texas Representative Greg Casar, a rising star in the Democratic Party and is a leading voice urging reform in U.S. policy towards Pakistan, Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, as well as high profile Pennsylvania freshman Summer Lee, who recently sailed past an AIPAC-funded primary opponent. The letter was signed by House Democrats from across the spectrum of moderate to progressive, and includes prominent Democrats in leadership roles who may take over as chairpersons of relevant committees if Democrats regain control of the House, such as the powerful Appropriations and Financial Services Committees that fund the Departments of State and Defense and oversee the imposition of individual human rights sanctions, respectively. Despite being circulated at a time when many members of Congress and their staff are out of the office due to political campaigns and are less able to respond to such requests, the letter received double the number of signatures of the previous letter on Pakistan’s flawed election, sent in March 2024.
Leading U.S.-based pro-democracy advocates praised the Congressmembers for the historic letter:
The Pakistani-American diaspora is grateful to our congressional leaders for standing up against tyranny and fascism,” said Dr. Mohammed Munir Khan of the Democracy And Human Rights Alliance. “The diaspora is determined to expose the illegal regime and criminals disguised as politicians, and the officials of military and civilian bureaucracy involved in crimes against democracy and humanity. We will keep working with our like-minded partners in Washington until true democracy is restored in the country and the will of the people is the supreme authority of the nation.”
“This letter marks a new era in US-Pakistan relations, with members of Congress showing their growing sophistication about US policy towards Pakistan and their commitment to making a real change,” said Mehlaqa Samdani, executive director of the Massachusetts-based Community Alliance for Peace and Justice. “If I were an unelected corrupt Pakistani general, I would be very worried right now.”
“The trend lines are undeniable: the US Congress and the American people will never again tolerate a US-Pakistan relationship that treats the democratic aspirations of Pakistan’s people as an afterthought,” said a lead organizer with the Capitol Hill-based Coalition to Change U.S. Policy on Pakistan (CUSP), who requested anonymity out of concern for the safety of relatives in Pakistan. “Pakistani-Americans hope that officials in Rawalpindi can understand that while time is running short, it is not too late to change course. Their current path of repression is not only doomed to failure, but will also lead to severe consequences for the perpetrators of human rights violations. I genuinely hope that senior Pakistani officials will instead make the historic choice to join hands with their people in a new era of democracy and prosperity."
Advocates made clear that despite the explosion in activity surrounding Pakistan in the U.S. Congress, they see this as only the beginning:
“With this vital and unprecedented congressional letter, the diaspora takes a decisive step toward binding legislation that will not only impose sanctions on the architects of this fascist regime but also deliver justice for the countless victims of their brutality, said Dr. Malik Usman, director of the advocacy organization First Pakistan Global, which is based in Virginia. “No amount of stolen wealth or highest paid lobbyists can neutralize the voice of the pro-democracy Pakistani-American Diaspora, a community fiercely determined to reclaim freedom and democracy for their motherland.
“Pakistan’s military dictatorship has met its fiercest adversary in a united people who refuse to be shackled by transnational repression and oppression. The future belongs to those who stand for truth and justice,” Dr. Usman added.
The full list of signatories includes: U.S. Representative Greg Casar (TX-35), co-leads U.S. Representatives Jim McGovern (MA-02) and Summer Lee (PA-12), and signatories U.S. Representatives Don Beyer (VA-08), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Cori Bush (MO-01), André Carson (IN-07), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Judy Chu (CA-28), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Dan Goldman (NY-10), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-07), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Dan Kildee (MI-08), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Greg Landsman (OH-01), John Larson (CT-01), Barbara Lee (CA-12), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Frank Pallone (NJ-06), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Jaime Raskin (MD-08), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Linda T. Sánchez (CA-38), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Brad Sherman (CA-32), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Dina Titus (NV-20), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Paul Tonko (NY-20), David Trone (MD-06), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Maxine Waters (CA-43), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), and Susan Wild (PA-07).
