White House Faces Backlash in Congress for Propping Up Pakistan's Military

PTI party supporters hold portraits of Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan, as they protest against the results of Pakistan's national election on March 10, 2024. Photo by ABDUL MAJEED/AFP via Getty Images

A growing chorus of voices in the U.S. government is demanding accountability for Pakistan’s military junta over its attacks on political dissent, imprisonment of opponents, and the rigging of an election earlier this year. On Wednesday, Democratic Reps. Greg Casar of Texas, Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania sent a letter to President Joe Biden, signed by 62 members of Congress, calling for a major shakeup of his Pakistan policy. 

The congressional letter, shared exclusively with Drop Site News (which has been banned in Pakistan by the military-backed government), is the first to call for the release of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, and comes after a nearly unanimous House vote condemning Democratic backsliding in Pakistan. 

The letter urges the U.S. government to use its “substantial leverage with Pakistan’s government to secure the release of political prisoners including former Prime Minister Khan and curtail widespread human rights abuses,” while also demanding a timeline for asset freezes and visa bans targeting “Pakistani elites engaged in human rights abuses.” One individual named specifically is Pakistan’s powerful army chief Asim Munir, who the latter identifies as an individual “credibly accused of violating democratic principles and human rights.”

The letter is just one among several recent public communications from U.S. lawmakers that have caught the Pakistani establishment flat-footed. Together they signal that a course correction in U.S. policy towards Pakistan may be in the works. 

Another letter in circulation is authored by Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., and Rep. John James, R-Mich. That letter is still collecting signatures and has yet to be sent to the administration, though a copy of it was obtained by Drop Site.

The Wild-James letter is backed by PakPAC, which recently stunned Democrats by endorsing Donald Trump for president, citing the Biden administration’s hostility to Pakistan’s democracy. Mohammad Tariq, a board member of PakPAC, said that the organization held meetings with both the Trump and Kamala Harris campaigns to discuss U.S. policy towards Pakistan. In his description, representatives of the Harris camp were defensive when questions were raised about the Biden administration’s support for the military junta.

“There were sham elections in Pakistan, the country is now effectively under martial law, and Imran Khan remains in prison despite being exonerated of the charges against him. I told them that you know what is happening, and yet there has been no visible stand by the Biden administration,” Tariq said of PakPAC’s meeting with the Harris campaign. “We told them that in the long-run a policy of siding with an illegitimate government and dictatorship is going to harm our standing in the world. They were defensive in our meeting, and we got the impression that they were not going to change their policy. ”

The Wild-James letter is unsparing in its criticism of the current Pakistani military junta, stating that authorities there have, “have employed an increasingly authoritarian approach to curbing dissent, including the use of mass arrests, arbitrary detention, and the implementation of a de facto firewall against social media platforms, with reports of broader efforts to slow internet access speeds.” It also criticizes the indulgence that the State Department has so far given to this crackdown, stating that “a change of approach at the U.S. embassy in Islamabad is urgently needed.” 

The bipartisan co-chairs of the Congressional Pakistan Caucus, Reps. Jack Bergman, R-Texas, and Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., also penned a new letter to the State Department demanding greater attention be paid to human rights in Pakistan, including the plight of Khan himself, who remains behind bars in solitary confinement. In addition to asking for “a written update on Imran Khan’s current situation,” the caucus co-chairs also demanded “quarterly updates on the evolving situation in Pakistan, so that we can more accurately respond to our constituents and the Pakistani-American diaspora in general.”

Imran Khan’s Removal

The push for a change in U.S. policy towards Pakistan comes two years after pressure from State Department diplomats helped push forward the removal of Khan, sending the country into a political crisis from which it has yet to emerge. Khan was removed from office in a 2022 vote of no-confidence organized by the Pakistani military. Rigged elections in February of this year have now ushered in a new era of de facto military-rule in Pakistan, liquidating what remained of Pakistan’s democratic institutions.

These developments have come with the tacit acceptance of the U.S. State Department, which has remained largely mute on the return of military rule in Pakistan. The U.S. role in helping terminate democracy in a country of over 200 million people has triggered outrage in the Pakistani diaspora, as well as among U.S. lawmakers who are now objecting continued cooperation with the military junta and its attacks on civil society. 

“If the US wants to restore our leadership in the world by being champions of democracy, then we need to stand up for democracy when it might be uncomfortable for our military establishment. We shouldn’t pick and choose when we stand up for democracy,” Casar told Drop Site. 

The current groundswell has been long in the making. This June, the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan measure expressing concern over democratic backsliding in Pakistan, calling for free and fair elections to be held, and demanding that the Pakistani government respect human rights and the rule of law. 

While Congressional and House lawmakers have become increasingly alert, the Biden administration however has raised no public objections, even as the Pakistani military has pushed forward a plan to amend democracy out of the constitution by brute force, relying heavily on kidnappings, blackmail and threats to round up the necessary votes. 

Casar said that while the administration has been quiet, the Pakistani government has conducted its own outreach to lawmakers aimed at deflecting growing criticism of its actions. “We certainly had outreach from the Pakistani government that is, in my view, nervous about being held accountable and there being transparency on this. But we’ve heard very little from the administration since the nearly unanimous House vote,” he said.

Pakistan’s Eroded Ties in Washington

While Khan was a vocal critic of U.S. foreign policy in the region, a stance which irritated the U.S. government, the new military-backed regime has rebuilt some ties with Washington, resulting in the resumption of limited security and economic cooperation with Islamabad. 

This thaw however has not brought the Pakistani regime much, however, aside from limited aid packages and a blind eye towards its ongoing attacks on democracy. Behind the scenes, the military has also made concessions to China, promising they can build a military base inside Pakistan—a move that will likely inflame Washington if it comes to pass.

Meanwhile, what little remains of Pakistan’s democracy continues to be demolished by the military and its civilian allies. This week, the government passed a new measure aimed at curtailing the power of Pakistan’s judiciary, giving the government the power to appoint a new chief justice in the country.

The fate of Khan himself may be the next crisis point for Pakistan. Members of the Pakistani diaspora in the U.S. have repeatedly expressed concerns to U.S. lawmakers that Khan may die in prison, concerns that prompted a phone call last year by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to Pakistan’s ambassador warning the government not to kill the deposed former prime minister.

The groundswell of activism and pressure against the Pakistani government, much of it led by members of the Pakistani-American diaspora, may now be moving Washington towards a standoff with the military-backed regime that has held power since Khan’s removal. 

While the current Pakistani government struggles to maintain control over internal dissent, its prized security relationship with the U.S. may now be in jeopardy, as criticism mounts over the authoritarian system it is imposing by force onto the country.

“Pakistan is one of the largest countries in the world, one of the largest democracies, and a nuclear-armed country,” said Casar. “And we’re seeing its democracy slip away before our eyes.”