ISLAMABAD: Forty-four Democratic members of the United States House ofRepresentatives have sent a strongly worded letter to Secretary of StateMarco Rubio, urging the immediate imposition of targeted sanctions onsenior Pakistani officials accused of orchestrating transnationalrepression and overseeing a deteriorating human rights situation inPakistan.
The letter, released publicly on Wednesday, was spearheaded byCongresswoman Pramila Jayapal of Washington state and Congressman GregCasar of Texas. Among the signatories are prominent progressive voicesincluding Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Congresswoman RashidaTlaib of Michigan, both Muslim members known for their outspoken advocacyon civil liberties and international human rights.
The lawmakers expressed grave concern over what they described as asystematic campaign by Pakistani authorities to intimidate, harass, andthreaten United States citizens and lawful permanent residents of Pakistaniorigin who openly criticise the country’s powerful military establishment.They highlighted instances where critics based in the US have faced directthreats, while their relatives still residing in Pakistan have reportedlybeen subjected to arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, or otherforms of coercion.
In their appeal to the State Department, the representatives invoked theGlobal Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and called for the swiftapplication of visa restrictions and asset freezes against implicatedsenior officials. Such measures, they argued, would serve both aspunishment for ongoing violations and as a deterrent against furtherextraterritorial repression.
The letter further accused Pakistani intelligence agencies of operatingwith impunity both within the country and abroad, pointing to a pattern ofabductions, torture, and extrajudicial killings of journalists, activists,and political dissidents. Particular attention was drawn to the continuingcrisis in Balochistan and the former tribal areas, as well as the broadercrackdown on freedom of expression following the political upheaval ofrecent years.
As of Thursday evening, neither Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs inIslamabad nor the Pakistani Embassy in Washington had issued an officialresponse to the congressional letter. Diplomatic sources indicated that thegovernment was studying the document and would respond through appropriatechannels in due course.
The development comes at a sensitive juncture in US-Pakistan relations,with both nations attempting to recalibrate bilateral ties amid sharedconcerns over regional stability and counter-terrorism cooperation.Analysts suggest the congressional initiative could complicate ongoinghigh-level engagements, particularly as the new Trump administrationsettles into office.
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Source: https://jayapal.house.gov/2025/12/03/letter-to-secretary-rubio/
Source:https://casar.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-jayapal-casar-lead-44-members-urging-sanctions-pakistani-officials
Tags: Pakistan, United States, Congress, Human Rights, Sanctions,Transnational Repression
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