A bipartisan group of 44 U.S. lawmakers has called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to impose targeted sanctions on senior Pakistani officials, citing an alarming escalation in transnational repression and human rights violations.
As many as 44 United States bipartisan lawmakers have urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to levy immediate sanctions on senior Pakistani officials, directly naming Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s military-backed government and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir for what they describe as an escalating campaign of transnational repression and a worsening human rights environment in Pakistan.
The bipartisan letter, released last Wednesday, called for visa bans and asset freezes on officials believed to be “orchestrating threats against U.S. citizens” and residents who criticize Pakistan’s military establishment.
“In recent years, U.S. citizens and residents who have spoken out against authoritarian abuses in Pakistan have faced threats, intimidation, and harassment—often extending to their families in Pakistan. These tactics include arbitrary detentions, coercion, and retaliatory violence, targeting diaspora individuals and their relatives,” the lawmakers wrote, cataloguing what they described as cross-border tactics used to silence dissent.
They warned that the problem is not limited to harassment of diaspora critics. “This authoritarian system in Pakistan is sustained through relentless repression. Opposition leaders are held without charge, denied fair trial, and kept in indefinite pretrial detention. Independent journalists are harassed, abducted, or forced into exile. Ordinary citizens are arrested for social media posts, while women, religious minorities, and marginalized ethnic groups—particularly in Balochistan—face disproportionate violence and surveillance,” the letter stated.
“We urge the Administration to swiftly impose measures, such as visa bans and asset freezes, against officials credibly perpetrating systematic repression, transnational repression, and undermining judicial independence. Such steps, alongside calls for the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and other political prisoners, would reinforce U.S. commitment to human rights, protect American citizens from transnational repression, and promote regional stability,” the letter concluded.
The congressional letter reflects growing U.S. concern over Pakistan’s human rights record and the treatment of dissenting voices. By calling for targeted sanctions and protective measures for U.S. citizens and residents, lawmakers are signaling increased scrutiny of Pakistan’s domestic and cross-border repression.
