OTTAWA — More than a dozen MPs in the Canada-Pakistan friendship group are urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to call out Pakistan’s arrest of its former prime minister.

Imran Khan, who is now the opposition leader in Pakistan, was arrested earlier this month on corruption and terrorism charges triggering violent protests.

The country’s supreme court ordered Khan released saying the arrest was illegal.

Khan was ousted as prime minister last year in a non-confidence vote he claims without proof was part of an illegal plot orchestrated by Washington and his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

Sixteen Canadian MPs say in a letter to Trudeau they are gravely concerned about the violence unfolding in Pakistan, and the illegal arrest of civilians and journalists.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told the House of Commons last week she was “very preoccupied with the political crisis” in Pakistan but did not specify how Canada was engaging on the issue.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2023.

The Canadian Press