US Congressman Joe Wilson urges Pakistan to ‘free Imran Khan’

KARACHI: US Republican Congressman Joe Wilson has called on President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir to release former prime minister Imran Khan, asserting that his freedom would strengthen US-Pakistan relations, The News reported on Sunday. In a letter addressed to Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership, Wilson described Khan’s release as a “would be a major step towards strengthening US-Pakistan relations”.Wilson, who represents South Carolina’s 2nd congressional district and serves as assistant majority whip, made the appeal public on February 7, posting the letter on X (formerly Twitter). “Grateful to send this letter today to the political and military leaders of Pakistan to Free Imran Khan,” he wrote.Underscoring his push for the former premier’s release, he added: “I will also be engaging the Trump administration on this issue. US-Pakistan relations are strongest when Pakistan is democratic. Free Imran Khan”.The letter starts off by saying that a strong relationship between the US and Pakistan “is in the national interest” of both countries and that “in the over 75 years of bilateral relations between the US and Pakistan, our relationship has been strongest when Pakistan embraces its democratic ideals of rule of law”.Wilson then comes to what he calls the “unjust detention of the former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan”. Interestingly, he pre-conditions his appeal with the disclaimer that he has “many disagreements with Mr Khan, particularly his stances in support of the Chinese Communist Party, and War Criminal Putin”. However, he then added that “however, democracy cannot work if political opponents are unjustly detained on politicised charges rather than defeated in the ballot box”. The letter asks Pakistani state officials to “uphold democratic institutions, human rights, and the rule of law….” and then ends with Wilson urging “Pakistan to free Imran Khan. Such a step would be a major step towards strengthening US-Pakistan relations”.Barely a few hours later, the American Congressman followed up with a speech on the floor of the House, once again posting on X his appeal to “free Imran Khan”.During his Friday speech in Congress, Wilson repeated much of what he had written in the letter, adding that “Pakistan’s military has undermined democracy by jailing former PM Imran Khan”, that “President Trump has survived a corrupt judicial system and knows the danger of persecution”, and “Pakistan should release Imran Khan, restoring democracy”. While he spoke, photos of the leaders of North Korea, Iran, Russia and China were displayed on a poster beside him. Wilson is seen largely as a fiscally conservative foreign policy hawk known for being a vocal critic of Iran, Russia and China. This is not the first time Wilson has advocated for the incarcerated former prime minister. On January 23, Congressman Joe Wilson had posted “Free Imran Khan” on X. Wilson’s letter has invariably drawn much PTI support on X but has not been without its critics and fact-checkers who have pointed out that the idea that ties between the US and Pakistan have been strongest when Pakistan embraces democracy is flawed and that ties have historically improved during Pakistan’s military regimes.