Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, will chair a hearing on the ongoing repression of political opposition by the government of Pakistan. Accounts and evidence will be heard about the government persecuting political figures of the opposition and journalists, and controlling media communications and preventing free and fair elections in Pakistan.

In its Freedom in the World 2024 report, the human rights watchdog group Freedom House noted that in Pakistan, “the military exerts enormous influence over government formation and policies, intimidates the media, and enjoys impunity for indiscriminate or extralegal use of force.”  The popular Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted in 2022, and soon after, arrested, convicted of corruption, and imprisoned. The U.S. State Department’s 2023 Country Report on Human Rights Practices detailed significant human rights issues perpetrated or tolerated by the government of Pakistan, including enforced disappearances, extra-judicial killings, persecution of religious and ethnic minorities, and transnational repression.

Witnesses will discuss the government of Pakistan’s ongoing political repression, the U.S. response, and offer recommendations for Congress.

WHAT: Congressional hearing entitled “Pakistan: Ongoing Political Repression.”

WHO: Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), and other members of Lantos Commission, and witnesses:

• Zulfi Bukhari, Advisor to former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on International Affairs and International Media
• Jared Genser, Managing Director, Perseus Strategies
• Sadiq Amini, Founder, Afghanistan Impact Network
• Ben Linden, Advocacy Director, Europe and Central Asia, Amnesty International

WHEN: Tuesday, July 15th, 2025 from 3:30-5:30 pm

WHERE: Rayburn House Office Building hearing room, Room 2255

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Contact: Jeff Sagnip

(202) 225-3765

http://chrissmith.house.gov