Recent Developments 20 UK Parliamentarians of various parties have signed an open letter to Foreign Secretary David Lammy, demanding Imran Khan be released from Adiala Jail. The petition comes against ever-deepening concerns regarding Pakistan’s human rights situation and democratic principles.
Spearheaded by Liverpool Riverside MP Kim Johnson, and written at the request of Imran Khan’s international affairs advisor, Zulfi Bukhari, the letter also betrays concerns that detention is politically motivated, which many believe. Signed by a cross-party representation in the House of Commons as well as the House of Lords, the letter urges that Khan’s imprisonment is without any apparent legal justification based on the findings by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, whose earlier ruling had held that Khan’s arrest was to deprive him of his ability to engage in Pakistan’s politics.
This time, in the appeal before the judges, UK legislators slammed possible plans to try Khan in a military court, a stark deviation from legal norms. Quoting a report by Amnesty International, they pointed out a “pattern of weaponization of the legal system,” which, they claim, has compromised the defendant’s ability to prepare his defense in at least three trials.
In the letter, it also talks about proposed constitutional amendments that would, if passed, strip Pakistan’s Supreme Court of much judicial authority. They argue that this would put the separation of powers and democracy in the country at risk.
The parliamentarians ended their letter by asking the UK government to diplomatically intervene, demanding aaaaKhan’s immediate release, and supporting Pakistan’s commitment to international human rights standards.
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