Richard Grenell, who was nominated by US President-elect Donald Trump as special presidential envoy, reiterated his support for the release of imprisoned former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The day after his appointment, Grenell shared with X a news article by a Pakistani news outlet about his new role, writing: Please free Imran Khan. ” Grenell previously tweeted “Free Imran Khan” on his X account during a desperate Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protest in Islamabad in November, expressing support for Khan’s freedom. was expressed.
Khan’s legal problems
Khan has been in prison for more than a year and a half. He was first detained in May 2023 in connection with a case in which his wife, Bushra Bibi, received land worth up to 7 billion rupees ($25 million) in bribes through a trust created in 2018. The former prime minister also faces terrorism charges in connection with: The assault incident occurred after his arrest in May last year. Prior to this, the PTI founder faced charges of publishing a confidential cable sent by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington to Islamabad in 2022.
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Khan cited the 2022 code’s association with US diplomat Donald Lew and claimed that US President Joe Biden’s administration was involved in his ouster. Experts believe that Mr. Khan had a good relationship with Mr. Trump while he was president of the United States, meeting with him several times, including at the White House.
Khan’s PTI party is now counting on support from Republicans and the Trump campaign to release its leader from prison. Apart from support from Mr. Grenell, PTI also managed to garner support from other prominent leaders in Washington, DC.
Earlier, a number of US senators had written a letter calling on Islamabad to release Khan and take action against human rights violations in the South Asian country.
Pakistan downplays comments
Meanwhile, the Pakistani government has sought to downplay Mr Grenell’s comments supporting Mr Khan. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said the government did not expect Mr Grenell’s comments to have an “impact”.
“I don’t think there is any pressure,” Asif said in an interview.
(Information provided by agency)
