US bipartisan bill on Pakistan urges human rights protection, Imran Khan’s release

WASHINGTON: Republican Congressman Joe Wilson and Democrat Jimmy Panetta have submitted a bill in the US Congress seeking American action against alleged human rights violations in Pakistan.

Called the ‘Pakistan Democracy Act’, the bill also calls for sanctions against Army Chief General Asim Munir and others which the bill alleges to be involved in political persecution.

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The bill seeks targeted sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which includes visa bans and restrictions on entry into the US. The presenters of the bill argued that the US government should allow a period of 180 days to identify Pakistani officials responsible for political repression.

Imran Khan’s was ousted in 2022 as the first premier to have ever been removed with a no-confidence vote. He was arrested in August 2023 on corruption charges, and now faces multiple charges including the ones related to violations of law and order by his party’s violent protests and marches towards the federal capital Islamabad. His supporters say that these allegations are politically motivated, while his critics continue to highlight the authenticity of the charges.

Earlier in June 2024, the US House of Representatives passed a similar resolution urging then-President Joe Biden to compel Pakistan to uphold rule of law. However, no action seemed to have resulted from that bill, despite its passage with 98 per cent majority.

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Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani has spoken on the current bipartisan bill, saying it is unlikely that any sanctions would be imposed for a populist leader who has been famously anti-American in his rhetoric.

Michael Kugelman, a Wilson Center analyst, also noted the irony of Imran Khan’s supporters now appealing to the US for intervention. “It’s politically awkward to blame America and then ask it for help,” he said.