Around two dozen UK members of parliament called for the immediate release of former prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, currently imprisoned in Adiala jail with his wife Bushra Begum in bogus cases.
At a hearing today about the deterioration of democratic standards in Pakistan and the “illegal incarceration” of the former prime minister, in the Committee Room of the House of Lords, the demand for Khan’s release was raised. Naz Shah, the Labour MP for Bradford West, and Lord Hannan of Kingsclere, the Conservative peer, called the hearing together.
Among the guest speakers were Sarwar Bari, the founder of Pattan Development, PTI candidate Meher Bano Qureshi in the 2024 Pakistani general election, and Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari, who was designated Imran Khan’s advisor on international affairs today.
More than 22 lawmakers from all of the major parties attended this hearing, including the former cabinet minister and leader of the Conservative Party, Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP; the former home secretary, Priti Patel MP; the former minister of security, Baroness Neville-Jones; the former minister of state for the foreign office, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon; and the former chairwoman of the Conservative Party and minister of foreign policy, Baroness Warsi. Attendees also included Labour’s Naushabah Khan, Shockat Adam, Barrister Ayoub Khan, and Iqbal Mohammad, the recently elected independent MPs.
Jahanzeb Khan, the leader of PTI UK, was present along with four other office bearers.
Parliamentarians at the hearing decided to demand that the UK government take note of the recent United Nations report regarding the imprisonment of former prime minister Imran Khan, demand his immediate release, and see Pakistan return to democracy. They will also call on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer MP and Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs David Lammy MP.
“As friends of Pakistan and supporters of Pakistani democracy, we want to see that country prosper,” stated Lord Hannan of Kingsclere. We want the UN’s recommendations—which call for Imran Khan’s incarceration to end and the establishment of a timeline for inclusive and free elections—to be put into action. We will keep pushing for democracy in both parliamentary chambers and across party lines. In order to present the issue worldwide, we will collaborate with lawmakers in other friendly nations.
According to Naz, the hearing on Pakistan was a “pro-Pakistan” gathering. She expressed sadness that it had been referred to as “an event against Pakistan” by some. She claimed that she chose to participate in the occasion in order to represent a sizable portion of Pakistanis who want Khan’s freedom and the cessation of all political accusations.
