Is the US congressional interest in Pakistan unique to Imran Khan?

It has been more than two years since the former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan was removed from office in April 2022 through a no-confidence vote.

It has also been more than nine months since the incumbent government led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) took charge of the parliament this February. A lot has come and gone between these months.

However, the results of this year’s general elections remain a subject of interest for the US Congress. The lingering interest has surprised many and has also brought relief to the Pakistani Americans relentlessly pursuing the matter.

After his ouster from the office, Khan blamed Pakistan’s ‘establishment’ – a term used to refer to the country’s military - and the US government for exerting an ‘unwelcome influence’ through its Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian affairs Donald Lu, of toppling his government.

Lu later appeared at a congressional hearing regarding Pakistan in March 2024, dispelling the accusations of his involvement in any activity to dislodge the Imran Khan-led Pakistani government.

He also shared information about the personal threats he received during the time from unidentified people because of the unproven accusations.

Although the committee did raise questions on the transparency of then newly-held elections, it reposed trust in Pakistan’s judiciary to sort out the matter.

Who's keeping the conversation going?

A large number of Pakistani Americans mostly doctors, lawyers, and businessmen have been the driving force behind keeping this matter alive at the US government level.

In June 2024, the US House of Representatives passed a bipartisan resolution in support of “democracy and human rights in Pakistan” calling for a "thorough and independent investigation" into the claims of interference in Pakistan's 2024 elections.

Many at the time expressed their concerns over the apparent dichotomy supporters of Imran Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) showed by, on the one hand, dragging the US government into what has often been termed Pakistan’s ‘internal affairs’, and on the other, also accusing it of facilitating the toppling of Khan’s government.

Sajjad Burki, the focal person appointed by the PTI to oversee its affairs in the US, dismisses this contrast.

Talking to Nukta, he said, “The issue Pakistani Americans brought into the limelight was the state of rule of law in Pakistan and now American legislators are also getting the actual picture.”

He claimed that earlier all the information that the US politicians received was through certain channels, mostly operated by Pakistan’s government itself and handpicked lobbyists based in DC.

Regarding the potential outcome of the congressional resolution and the letter written by more than 60 US congressmen to President Joe Biden concerning the release of political prisoners, especially Imran Khan, Burki emphasized that Pakistani Americans do not seek direct U.S. intervention.

He acknowledged that the U.S. as the world's largest economy wields significant influence over other nations, including Pakistan.

"We firmly oppose any direct involvement by the U.S. government in Pakistan's political affairs; in fact, our leadership is openly against such actions," he stated.

‘Nothing unprecedented’

Diplomat and Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States Hussain Haqqani however told Nukta that nothing the Capitol Hill was saying or doing as of late was unprecedented.

He challenged the PTI’s views on garnering a ‘unique’ political support in the US Congress.

“The issue with the workers and supporters of the PTI is that most of them were apolitical before they started taking interest in politics out of love for Imran Khan as their leader. They don’t know how the political system works in Pakistan or has worked all these years.”

According to Haqqani, the resolution and the letter by the U.S. congressmen to President Biden was “not something exceptional”.

Haqqani said that the Pakistani community and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) workers had in 1977 used all political avenues for the release of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Bhutto – incarcerated following the military coup of Gen Ziaul Haq.

“US President Jimmy Carter even wrote a letter to Gen Zia pleading for the release of the jailed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto” he added. The former ambassador said that the US has written similar letters for many countries, including Pakistan, over various issues across several years.

He noted that the U.S. Congress has authority over two major aspects of U.S. foreign policy: legislation and the allocation of budgets to address specific situations.

So far, the U.S. Congress has not passed any bill to put restrictions on Pakistan, of neither a political nature nor financial, so the impact is simply nonexistent, Haqqani said.

As the U.S. braces for its much-hyped presidential elections on Nov. 5, many Pakistani Americans believe that Republican candidate Donald Trump could be sympathetic towards the PTI.

This is also one of the reasons why the Pakistani American Public Affairs Committee recently endorsed Trump.

Haqqani said the U.S. government very rarely tries to micromanage the political affairs of any foreign country.

“They decide whether to cooperate with any regime or not. For now, there is no reason for the U.S. government to go to that level with the existing setup in Pakistan as its economy is picking up and things are generally improving in the country,” he said.

Meanwhile, Burki stressed that Pakistani-Americans are committed to advancing U.S.-Pakistan ties with any ‘legitimate’ government in Islamabad.