Lord Hussain
Main Page: Lord Hussain (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Lord Hussain (LD)
My Lords, I, too, thank the noble Baroness, Lady Alexander, for securing this debate.
As many noble Lords are aware, I was born in Pakistan. I have lived most of my life here in the UK, but I still have strong family connections in Pakistan. I like Pakistan, and I go back and forth very frequently to see my relatives. During my visits, I have the opportunity to meet politicians of all political persuasions in that country. When it comes to the internal politics of Pakistan, I always stay neutral. My aim has always been to do everything I can to strengthen the historical relations between Britain and Pakistan.
From the early days, Pakistan has faced enormous internal challenges, including large-scale migration, poverty, floods, earthquakes, terrorism and corruption. Externally, there have been three wars, and many battles and ongoing hostilities, on its eastern borders with India, and never-ending instability and wars on its western border with Afghanistan. Pakistan continues to bear the cost of Afghan’s problems, which, so far, have cost Pakistan more than 70,000 lives and billions of pounds in economic losses.
Despite this, Pakistan has been able to establish a powerful and respectful place on the world stage as a nuclear state. On the international front, Pakistan has successfully been able to balance its relationships with the US, Russia, China and Great Britain. Similarly, in the region, it has good relations with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Türkiye, Bangladesh and Malaysia. Pakistan is one of the largest contributors to the United Nations peacekeeping missions around the world. More recently, Pakistan has shown its diplomatic abilities during the war between the US, Israel and Iran by offering mediation between the US and Iran in order to end the war by finding a peaceful solution. I sincerely hope that these efforts will bring an end to this deadly war in the Middle East, which is affecting the whole world.
However, at home, Pakistan faces challenges around weak economics, law and order, justice, corruption and political instability. Many reputable human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, have criticised the elections process of 2024 and the treatment of political workers, including former Prime Minister Imran Khan. It has been alleged that Imran Khan has been denied free access to his lawyers and family members and has been held in solitary confinement. It is also alleged that he has lost 85% of his sight in one of his eyes. In my personal capacity, I raised these concerns with the Pakistan High Commission in London; I was told that Mr Khan has received eye treatment from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad and that his lost eyesight has been fully restored with glasses.
On the detentions of the PTI’s leadership, I am told that most of them are linked to the anti-state action of 9 May 2023 and are being dealt with according to the relevant sections of the law.
As I said at the beginning of my speech, I stay away from Pakistan’s internal politics, but justice, fairness and access to health facilities are universal rights. Hence, in the light of these claims and counterclaims, I urge the Minister to ask the Foreign Secretary to raise these issues with the Pakistani Government: a fair trial, justice and medical care for Mr Khan and other political leaders; and free access to lawyers and family members, including Mr Khan’s British-born sons.