Pakistan criticizes US lawmakers’ letter calling for ex-PM Khan’s release as ‘counterproductive’

Police cammandos escort former Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan (C) as he arrives at the high court in Islamabad on May 12, 2023. (AFP/File)

• Sixty Democratic members of Congress urge US president to make human rights central to Pakistan policy
• They ask the US government to ensure Khan’s safety in prison, send embassy officials to meet him in jail

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson on Thursday criticized a letter written by over 60 Democratic lawmakers from the US House of Representatives urging President Joe Biden to secure the release of political prisoners, including former prime minister Imran Khan, as “counterproductive” and not in line with “positive dynamics” of ties between the two states. 
Khan has faced a slew of charges since the downfall of his administration in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022, with authorities trying him on charges ranging from treason to corruption and contracting an illegal marriage. The ex-premier and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party have maintained that all charges against him are fabricated to keep him out of national politics.
US Representatives Greg Casar, Jim McGovern and Summer Lee, along with 59 other Members of Congress, urged President Biden to take stock of the situation in Pakistan, calling for human rights to be the central pillar of American policy toward the country.
In the letter, the American lawmakers urged Biden to exercise Washington’s “substantial leverage” with Pakistan’s government to secure the release of political prisoners including former prime minister Khan and curtail “widespread human rights abuses.” 
“Comments on Pakistan’s domestic affairs are contrary to interstate conduct,” Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson, said at a weekly news briefing. “We believe such letters and statements are counterproductive and not in line with positive dynamics of Pakistan-US bilateral relations.”
She said the letters were based on an “incorrect understanding” of Pakistan’s political situation, hoping that the American Congress would play a supportive role in strengthening Islamabad-Washington relations and focus on mutual collaboration that benefits both countries. 
“Pakistan values its bilateral relations with the United States,” Baloch said. “We believe in constructive dialogue and engagement to address any concern.”
‘HISTORIC LEVEL OF IRREGULARITIES’
The US lawmakers also criticized the February general election in Pakistan, saying they had witnessed “a historic level of irregularities” and set the country on a path toward “authoritarianism.”
“The government has intensified its crackdown on social media and the Internet as part of a broader effort to suppress political activism, which it deems to be ‘anti-state propaganda’ and ‘digital terrorism,’” said the letter.
“These repressive measures are not only an attack on fundamental human rights, but they also damage Pakistan’s growing IT industry and further weaken the economy, with one industry group estimating that it could cost the sector $300 million,” it added.
US Representative Casar, who spearheaded the initiative to write the letter, said it marked the first such collective call from multiple members of the US Congress for the release of Khan, who had had testy relations with Washington as a long-standing critic of US foreign policy.
The American lawmakers also asked the Biden administration to secure guarantees from Pakistan for Khan’s safety and urge US embassy officials to visit him in prison.