The US bill requires sanctions against the Pakistani army chief, requires the release of Imran Khan

TBS report

March 26, 2025, 7:15 p.m.

Last modification: March 26, 2025, 7:20 p.m.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, made gestures while speaking with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan, March 17, 2023. Reuters / Akhtar Soomro

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Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, made gestures while speaking with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan, March 17, 2023. Reuters / Akhtar Soomro

American legislators presented a bipartite bill to the House of Representatives, calling for sanctions against officials from the Pakistani State concerning alleged human rights violations, including the “persecution” of the former Prime Minister Imran Khan, reports Dawn.

The bill, entitled “Pakistan Democracy Act”, was presented on Monday by the member of the Republican Congress Joe Wilson of South Caroline and the Democrat Jimmy Panetta of California. He was returned to the Chamber of Foreign Affairs and Judicial Committees for new deliberations.

The proposed legislation calls for the taxation of sanctions to the head of the army of Pakistan within 180 days if the country does not take measures to improve its human rights situation.

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The bill aims to use the US Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which allows the United States to refuse visas and entry to individuals accused of human rights violations.

The bill also calls on the US administration to identify the key persons involved in the alleged abolition of the political opposition in Pakistan and to place them on a list of sanctions. This will also allow the American president to raise these sanctions if Pakistan puts an end to military interference in governance and release all “political detainees detained”.

Imran Khan has been involved in dozens of cases since his government was dismissed by a request without confidence in 2022. He was arrested in August 2023 and is currently imprisoned in the high security prison in Rawalpindi.

According to the Dawn report, the introduction of this bill highlights the continuous commitment of supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) in the United States, which has been pressure on American legislators since the withdrawal of Imran Khan according to 2022.

In June 2024, a similar resolution was adopted in the House of Representatives with crushing Bipartisan support, with 98pc votes in favor. This resolution urged the president of the time, Joe Biden, to press Pakistan to maintain democracy and the rule of law.

However, the Biden administration did not take any measures in response.

The Pakistani Embassy in Washington has so far refused to comment on the bill or reveal how it plans to counter this last decision. However, diplomatic sources indicate that Pakistani officials can try to delay new measures on legislation using diplomatic channels.

While the Pakistani diplomats have recognized the concerns about development, they kept the hope that the bill would not gain enough traction to be implemented. They stressed that Washington still considers Pakistan as an important security partner, citing Islamabad's cooperation in the recent arrest and deportation of an IS-K terrorist as an example.

Last month, the member of the Congress Joe Wilson and the member of the Republican Congress August Pfluger sent a letter to the American Secretary of State Marco Rubio, exhorting him to intervene to “restore democracy” in Pakistan.

“We write as loyal conservatives to ask you to commit to the military regime of Pakistan to release Imran Khan,” said Wilson and Pfluger in their letter, highlighting the previous links of Imran Khan with American officials.

Wilson also sent a similar letter to President Donald Trump, stressing that Khan's imprisonment had implications for American strategic interests.

In addition, several members of the Congress on both sides of the aisle have publicly called for the release of Imran Khan. These include representatives Greg Casar, Rashida Tlaib, Haley Stevens, Ilhan Omar, Brad Sherman, Ro Khanna, August Pfluger and Jack Bergman, among others.

Although the introduction of the bill highlights a meticulous examination of the Pakistan human rights file in Washington, its prospects remain uncertain.

Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute of the Wilson Center, called him “one of the most important laws in Pakistan for some time”.

He admitted that it “could be long-term to pass, but it will scare Pakistan leadership,” he wrote on X.

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