LONDON: Almost two dozen members of the UK parliament have demanded that Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, who is incarcerated in Adiala Prison along with his spouse Bushra Begum, be released immediately.
At a hearing today regarding the deterioration of democratic norms in Pakistan and the “illegal incarceration” of the former prime minister, in the Committee Room of the House of Lords, the demand for Khan’s release was raised. Naz Shah, the Labour MP for Bradford West, and Lord Hannan of Kingsclere, the Conservative peer, jointly called the hearing.
Guest speakers included Sarwar Bari, the creator of Pattan Development, and Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari, who was designated Imran Khan’s advisor on international affairs today. Meher Bano Qureshi, the PTI candidate in the 2024 Pakistan general election, was also a guest speaker.More than 22 lawmakers from all of the major parties attended this hearing, including the former cabinet minister and leader of the Conservative Party, Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP; the former home secretary, Priti Patel MP; the former minister of security, Baroness Neville-Jones; the former minister of state for the foreign office, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon; and the former chairwoman of the Conservative Party and minister of foreign policy, Baroness Warsi. Attendees also included Labour’s Naushabah Khan, Shockat Adam, Barrister Ayoub Khan, and Iqbal Mohammad, the recently elected independent MPs.
Jahanzeb Khan, the leader of PTI UK, was present along with four other office bearers.
Parliamentarians will meet with Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs David Lammy and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, it was decided at the hearing.
