A few days after many U.S. lawmakers wrote to President Joe Biden asking for the release of Imran Khan, the founder of Pakistan’s PTI party, over 100 Pakistani politicians have now expressed their concerns to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. They claim U.S. lawmakers are interfering in Pakistan’s internal affairs.
In their letter, 160 Pakistani lawmakers criticized the comments made by 62 U.S. House members about Pakistan’s politics, calling them an unfair and distorted view of the situation. They argue that the U.S. lawmakers’ message to President Biden is meddling in Pakistan’s matters and supports one political party over others.
The American lawmakers urged Biden to pressure the Pakistani government to free political prisoners, including Khan, who has been in jail for more than a year. They also asked for U.S. embassy officials to visit him in prison.
This back-and-forth isn’t new. Earlier, U.S. lawmakers passed a resolution calling for an investigation into alleged election irregularities in Pakistan, which Pakistani legislators condemned as interference.
The Pakistani lawmakers criticized the U.S. letter, saying it spreads misinformation from one political party and undermines Pakistan’s democratic processes. They pointed out that the spread of false information on social media is causing unrest in the country, mainly due to individuals based in the U.S. and the UK.
They accused Khan of promoting political violence and trying to create chaos. The Pakistani lawmakers warned that comments from U.S. Congress members regarding ongoing legal cases could negatively affect the judicial process in Pakistan.
