About 20 British parliamentarians from cross-party have urged UK’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy MP to call for former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s release from Adiala Jail.
They also called for engagement with the Pakistan government in this connection.
The letter has been written by Kim Johnson, MP for Liverpool Riverside, on the request of Imran Khan’s adviser on International Affairs Zulfi Bukhari and signed by members of both the Commons and the Lords, from all parties.
Those who signed the letter included Kim Johnson MP, Steve Witherden MP, Apsana Begum MP, Paula Barker MP, Liam Byrne MP, Rosie Duffield MP, Paulette Hamilton MP, Peter Lamb MP, Andy McDonald MP, Gill Furniss MP, Abtisam Mohamed MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, Zarah Sultana MP, Nadia Whittome MP, Baroness Joan Bakewell, Baroness Christine Blower, Lord Todoanfel, Lord Peter Hain and Lord John Hendy.
The letter reads: “We are writing with grave concern about the continued detention of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. As you will know, Mr Khan was imprisoned in 2023 in a move which the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found: had no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him from running for political office. Thus, from the outset, that prosecution was not grounded in law and was reportedly instrumentalised for a political purpose.”
It added: “As a result, Mr Khan’s ongoing detention represents a grave threat to democracy in the country. Indeed, there has been speculation that his fate will likely be decided by a military court, which would represent a worrying and completely illegal escalation. Following a recent review of Mr Khan’s case, Amnesty International has found that there has been ‘a pattern of weaponisation of the legal system to keep Imran Khan under detention and away from all political activity.”
