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Campaign and petition email responses | Statement on the Arrest of Imran Khan

Campaign and petition email responses

Statement on the Arrest of Imran Khan

You will understand that this is a live investigation which I am unable to comment on in full. However, I do acknowledge that Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ruled that former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s dramatic arrest was illegal.

There is no place for violence in politics and SNP Members of Parliament in Westminster regularly call on the UK Government to make representations to senior members of the Pakistan Government about the need to uphold the rule of law and respect human rights.

The Government of Pakistan must take all-inclusive actions to defend, encourage and ensure all rights of Pakistani citizens irrespective of their political, religious, social and medical background and will all upon them to do so in the strongest possible terms.

We seek reassurances from the Pakistani Government that they will extend constitutional, legal, political and educational reforms to improve the lived experiences of all persecuted communities in Pakistan, but we remain appalled at the slow pace of progress and worry that this is deliberate.

First Minister Humza Yousaf and Scottish Government officials are in regular dialogue with counterparts in the Government of Pakistan. For example, First Minister Humza Yousaf met Shehbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan in London on the 7 May 2023. On 10 May the First Minitser said:

"The situation in Pakistan, a country very close to my heart, is deeply disturbing. We stand with others in the international community calling for calm, and importantly for respecting the principles of the rule of law and democracy."

Rest assured, myself and my fellow SNP Members of Parliament in Westminster will continue to urge the UK Government to press the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all its citizens, regardless of their political belief.

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