{"id":4474,"date":"2025-04-23T12:48:07","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T07:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/?p=4474"},"modified":"2025-04-23T12:48:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T07:48:09","slug":"us-congressman-calls-for-imran-khans-release-after-pakistan-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/?p=4474","title":{"rendered":"US congressman calls for Imran Khan&#8217;s release after Pakistan visit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Democracy and human rights stressed in Bergman statement.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>US-Pakistan ties linked to shared values, says Bergman.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Congressman cites freedom, stability as partnership goals.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following a high-level visit to Pakistan earlier this month, US Congressman Jack Bergman has reiterated his call for the release of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement shared on X after engaging with Pakistani leaders and communities both in the country and within the United States, Republican Party&#8217;s Bergman underscored the importance of democratic values and human rights in fostering a robust US-Pakistan relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAfter my Pakistan visit, engaging with leaders and communities there and in the US, I reaffirm my call for Imran Khan&#8217;s release,&#8221; he said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;A strong US-Pakistan partnership thrives on shared values \u2014 democracy, human rights, &amp; economic prosperity. Let&#8217;s work together for freedom &amp; stability,\u201d added the congressman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"578\" height=\"284\" data-id=\"4476\" src=\"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ffffff-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4476\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ffffff-1.jpg 578w, https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ffffff-1-300x147.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 578px) 100vw, 578px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mineral Investment Forum visit<br>Bergman led a bipartisan congressional delegation to attend the Pakistan Mineral Investment Forum 25 (PMIF25). The delegation included Congressmen Thomas Souzzi and Jonathan Jackson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">US congressmen had termed their visit to Pakistan &#8220;highly successful and significant for the future&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Congressman Bergman said the importance of Pakistan-US relations is undeniable. He said the two countries are working in different sectors and promoting partnership. &#8220;Mineral is a key sector in this partnership,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During their stay, the lawmakers met with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir, Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi, and other top officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), discussions during the meeting with the army chief focused on regional security and defence cooperation. The congressmen commended Pakistan&#8217;s armed forces for their central role in counterterrorism and acknowledged the country\u2019s enduring contributions to regional peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both sides stressed the importance of sustained bilateral engagement rooted in mutual respect and strategic convergence. Several memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were signed to enhance collaboration in information technology training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his meeting with the US delegation, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi emphasised Pakistan&#8217;s role as a frontline state in the global war on terror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPakistan stands as a wall between terrorism and the rest of the world,\u201d Naqvi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He underscored the need for enhanced intelligence and technology sharing and urged the international community to acknowledge Pakistan\u2019s unmatched sacrifices.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">US lawmakers push for Khan&#8217;s release<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bergman&#8217;s statement adds to a growing chorus of US lawmakers advocating for Khan&#8217;s release. In February 2025, Congressmen Joe Wilson and August Pfluger sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging engagement with Pakistan to secure Khan&#8217;s freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They described Khan as a victim of &#8220;judicial abuse&#8221; and likened his situation to that of President Donald Trump. \u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, Richard Grenell, former Acting Director of National Intelligence and a close ally of President Trump, has publicly advocated for Khan&#8217;s release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In December of last year Grenell criticised the Biden administration&#8217;s response to Khan&#8217;s imprisonment, urging a more assertive stance to uphold democratic principles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moreover, over 60 members of the US House of Representatives wrote to then-President Joe Biden in October 2024, calling for the release of political prisoners in Pakistan, including Khan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lawmakers highlighted issues such as electoral fraud and the suppression of political dissent, urging the administration to prioritise human rights in its foreign policy. \u200b<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following a high-level visit to Pakistan earlier this month, US Congressman Jack Bergman has reiterated his call for the release of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan. In a statement shared on X after engaging with Pakistani leaders and communities both in the country and within the United States, Republican Party&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","inline_featured_image":false,"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_3859443944190656_798604363342440":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4474"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4478,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4474\/revisions\/4478"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}