ISLAMABAD: In a tit-for-tat response, over 100 Pakistani lawmakers have written to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, expressing concerns over a letter from US Congress members to President Joe Biden that called for the release of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan.

“We write to express our concerns over the unwarranted and inaccurate commentary on Pakistan’s domestic politics by 62 Members of the US House of Representatives,” the letter states, describing the US lawmakers’ stance as a “skewed view of realities.”

Signed by 160 Pakistani parliamentarians, including top leaders of major political parties, the letter argues that the US lawmakers’ appeal to President Biden amounts to “external interference” and unfairly amplifies the political narrative of a single party at the expense of Pakistan’s state institutions and other political groups.

The response comes after US lawmakers urged President Biden to use “substantial leverage with Pakistan’s government to secure the release of political prisoners including former prime minister Khan”.

The letter also made an appeal for US embassy officials to visit Khan who is currently behind bars at Adiala jail and has been imprisoned at the said facility fore more than a year now.

This isn’t the first time legislators in Islamabad and Washington have come face to face as previously US lawmakers, in June, had passed “House Resolution 901” by a massive majority — with 368 members in the House of Representatives voting in its favour — which called for urging an impartial probe into the claims of irregularities during the February 8 general elections in the country.

The resolution was swiftly responded to by Pakistani lawmakers who passed a motion condemning the US resolution terming it “contrary to facts” and “interference” in its internal affairs.

Following the recent letter by Washingtons’ legislators — labelled “contrary to inter-state conduct and diplomatic norms” by Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch — US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller on Wednesday said that Khan’s imprisonment was to be decided by Pakistani courts.

‘Influenced by blatant disinformation’

The Pakistani lawmakers’ response laments US Congressmen’s letter for being “influenced by blatant disinformation peddled by adherents of same political party” and goes on to examine “political motives behind the campaign to discredit credible political process in Pakistan and undermine its democratic institutions”.

Noting that the country grapples with the challenges of the post-truth era which have been further complicated by politics of cult-followership and polarisation, the legislators said: “Gross misuse of social media as a tool for Digital Terrorism remains a proclivity to rouse unrest and threaten the state, while the lead role in this negative campaign is being unfortunately undertaken by dissident elements residing in the US and the United Kingdom.”

Blaming the PTI founder for introducing political violence and criminal intimidation against state institutions, the letter alleges that the incarcerated ex-PM had been “inciting assaults on Islamabad and Lahore to cause anarchy and violence”.

Stressing that the US lawmakers’ conduct and views regarding the February 8 polls were “equally misinformed in one-sided,” the communique to PM Shehbaz maintained that the Khan-founded party was consistently making efforts to malign the electoral process.

“Commentary on sub-judice cases by members of Congress is likely to unfairly influence the judicial process in Pakistan,” it warned.

Govt urged to engage with Pakistani caucus

Highlighting that dragging other countries into the domestic electoral fray to satisfy a small segment of the electorate is ill-advised, the parliamentarians — in an apparent reference to the cipher case saga — said that a similar misuse of diplomatic communication for political advantage by the same caused one of the most serious crises in current history of Pakistan-US relations.

“It is ironic that respected members of US Congress tend to ignore the testimony of Assistant Secretary of State, Donald Lu in which he blamed for orchestrating a campaign based on ‘complete falsehood’,” reads the letter while referring to Khan’s claim of blaming his ouster as PM on a conspiracy orchestrated by Washington.

“We wish to respect the political process in the US and express our commitment to work with the new administration formed as a result of coming elections. Concurrently, we rightfully expect the same to be acknowledged and respected by US lawmakers as well,” it added.

Additionally, the lawmakers urged the government to to direct the diplomatic mission in Washington to engage the members of the Pakistani caucus in US Congress as well as signatories of this letter to highlight the correct perspective on the issue and caution them from falling prey to unsubstantiated political propaganda against Islamabad.