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Two American legislators have introduced a bicameral bill in the House of Representatives, proposing sanctions on Pakistani government officials for reported human rights abuses, including the “persecution” of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The bill, the Pakistan Democracy Act, was sponsored by Republican Congressman Joe Wilson (South Carolina) and Democrat Jimmy Panetta (California) on Monday. It was referred to the House Foreign Affairs and Judiciary Committees for consideration.
The bill envisages imposing sanctions on Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir and other senior officials within 180 days if Pakistan fails to take measures to enhance its human rights record. The bill invokes the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which allows the US to withhold visas and entry from individuals who are accused of human rights violations.
The legislation requires identifying those who are accused of suppressing political opposition in Pakistan and puts them on a sanctions list. But it also gives the US president discretion to remove these sanctions in case Pakistan stops military involvement in governance and frees all “wrongfully detained political detainees.”
The bill has been introduced during ongoing lobbying activity by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party sympathizers in the US. PTI-aligned activists have repeatedly pressed American legislators to interfere in Pakistani politics since the ouster of Khan from office in 2022.
The House of Representatives passed a resolution with lopsided bipartisan majorities in June 2024 to pressure the Biden administration to prod Pakistan into embracing democracy. Nevertheless, the White House at the time failed to take tangible action.
The Washington Pakistani Embassy has yet to comment on the bill. Diplomatic sources indicate that Pakistani authorities might try to stall further action on the legislation through diplomatic means.
The bill was also a major issue of discussion during a diplomatic reception at the Pakistan Embassy on Monday evening, where Pakistani diplomats voiced concerns but hoped that it would not pick up enough momentum for enactment. They pointed to Pakistan’s ongoing collaboration with the US in counter-terrorism as an aspect that might discourage Washington from going ahead with retaliatory measures.
Congressman Joe Wilson has been vocal on Khan’s imprisonment, referring to him as a “political prisoner.” Wilson and fellow Republican Congressman August Pfluger had previously written to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, requesting intervention to “restore democracy” in Pakistan. Wilson had also written the same letter to former President Donald Trump, stressing the strategic stakes of Khan’s imprisonment.
A number of members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have endorsed the bill, such as Representatives Greg Casar, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Brad Sherman, Ro Khanna, August Pfluger, and Jack Bergman.
Although the bill is hailed by experts as a major milestone in US-Pakistan relations, its fate hangs in the balance. Michael Kugelman, Director of the South Asia Institute at The Wilson Center, termed it as “one of the most significant pieces of legislation on Pakistan in quite some time.” He added, however, that although its passage is doubtful, it will certainly “spook Pakistan’s leadership.”
