Lord Callanan
Main Page: Lord Callanan (Conservative - Life peer)
Lord Callanan (Con)
My Lords, I believe that we are about to start voting soon, but I will make a start. I, too, want to thank the noble Baroness, Lady Alexander of Cleveden, for securing this important debate on a vital matter. I think the whole Committee is clear—and we certainly agree—that Pakistan must uphold its constitutional and human rights responsibilities in all cases. I am sure that we will agree that this principle applies in the case of Imran Khan as well. We share the noble Baroness’s concern about Mr Khan’s health, and we welcome that the Government regularly raise the need to uphold Pakistan’s constitution and international human rights obligations, as the Minister confirmed in response to an Oral Question on 25 February this year.
The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Viscount Stansgate) (Lab)
My Lords, my apologies. That will teach me not to believe the Whips when they say there will be another vote straightaway. The debate continues.
Lord Callanan (Con)
As many noble Lords have observed in the debate, the reports on Imran Khan’s health are now extremely worrying. Can the Minister say what efforts Ministers have made to confirm these reports? Following those efforts, have Ministers changed their approach to this issue? In particular, it has been reported that Imran Khan has been denied proper medical treatment. Can the Minister update the Committee on the Government’s understanding of Imran Khan’s medical situation? On the specific point of how regularly Ministers are pressing their Pakistani counterparts on this point, can she please say when a Minister or official last raised the Imran Khan case with the Government of Pakistan and what action the Government of Pakistan have taken, if any, in response to that engagement?
Another important area of concern in this case, as my noble friend Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon pointed out, is the denial of family visits. The Minister helpfully confirmed last month that the Government would want to see access to family granted to anyone held in these circumstances, and we agree with the Government on that. As the Minister has previously said, one of the barriers to family access is that the Government of Pakistan control the visa and immigration decisions that would be required. Can the Minister please say what whether Ministers and officials have also raised that specific point with their Pakistani counterparts?
While the Government are completely correct that Imran Khan is not a British citizen, that said, I hope the Minister will recognise his long and deep connection with this country when raising that case. He was educated in the UK and, of course, he has many British family members. I know that she understands this, and it is important for us to reflect on it when discussing Imran Khan’s case. It is also important to reflect on the historic and ongoing relationship between the UK and Pakistan as a close and valued Commonwealth ally. We should encourage Pakistan to uphold the values of freedom and democracy that we all hold so dearly. I hope the Minister will take a moment in her reply to set out the Government’s views on that topic as well. I look forward to hearing what she has to say.