Imran Khan: Imprisonment

Lord Purvis of Tweed Excerpts

Wednesday 25th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

It is important—and we maintain this position for all those held in prison—that people get access to healthcare and to their families. We have made that case, because that is consistent with the position of this Government and the previous one, and we will continue to do so. The noble Lord asks about our development spending. As he knows, we made a decision around this time last year to cut our development spending by around 40%, and we will be making further announcements shortly about the detail of that—what will be happening in which countries, and what it will be spent on.

[Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)]

My Lords, in addition to the health concerns of Imran Khan, the Pakistan Government also prosecuted and sentenced many opposition figures who demonstrated against the Government, and there is significant worry about the extent of the state capture of the Pakistan economy by the military. In the UK-Pakistan trade dialogue that was announced in July last year, there was, regrettably, no reference to human rights. Can the Minister reassure the House that we are recognising human rights as a critical part of our trading relationship, and that we are not offering preferential market access to the very military enterprises that are committing human rights abuses?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

We have very real concerns about the inappropriate use of military courts and the lack of transparency in the way they operate. We discuss this, as the noble Lord would want us to do, with Government of Pakistan. Having a flourishing trading relationship is helpful when it comes to being able to raise these matters effectively. I take on board completely his point about our need to make sure that human rights are integral when we make these decisions.