WASHINGTON D.C: During yesterday U.S. State Department press briefing, journalist from The Frontier Post posed questions regarding the state of democracy and human rights violations in Pakistan. The correspondent, after expressing gratitude to the department for finally being granted a hard press pass after a decade, quickly shifted the focus to the situation in Pakistan’s political landscape.
The journalist referenced reports of severe intimidation tactics used to influence parliamentary votes. He recalled an incident reported years ago by prominent Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, who had exposed horse trading in the Pakistani parliament. At that time, substantial sums of money—around $4-5 million—had allegedly been used to buy votes from parliamentarians. However, the correspondent highlighted a new, disturbing development from the past weekend: instead of money, children of parliamentarians and senators, including handicapped children, were reportedly kidnapped to force the legislators to vote in favor of key constitutional amendments recently passed by the parliament of Pakistan.
According to the journalist, one female senator was so shaken by the ordeal that she was visibly shivering on the floor of the senate.
The correspondent pressed further, questioning whether this type of coercion is the kind of democracy the U.S. supports in Pakistan.
In another pointed question, the journalist turned US Deputy Spokesperson, Vedant Patel’s attention to the treatment of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. He described Khan as a graduate of Oxford University, the founder of Pakistan’s largest charity hospital and university, and a key figure in the country’s political and educational systems. Despite this, Khan has faced severe mistreatment in jail, according to the journalist, who noted that even Khan’s two sisters, his wife, and his nephew have been arrested. The correspondent inquired whether the U.S. Ambassador in Islamabad had reported these human rights violations to the State Department, emphasizing that if a public figure like Khan was being treated so poorly, the situation for ordinary prisoners must be dire.
Vedant Patel, the State Department spokesperson, responded cautiously to the questions, stating that he had no specific information to offer and deferred the kidnapping allegations to local law enforcement. He did not directly address the concerns about Khan’s imprisonment or the broader human rights situation raised during the briefing.__Courtesy The Frontier Post
