Dear Ambassador Rizwan Sheikh,

While it would seem appropriate to congratulate you on your recent appointment as Pakistan’s 31st ambassador to the United States, we understand it cannot be easy representing an autocratic government masquerading as a democracy.

As I am sure you are aware, following the massive irregularities in Pakistan’s parliamentary elections in February, the Economist’s Democracy Index downgraded Pakistan from being a ‘flawed democracy’ to an ‘authoritarian regime.’

Therefore, as members of the Pakistani-American diaspora alongside our allies, we reach out to express our collective alarm at the deteriorating political and human rights situation in Pakistan, and hope you will communicate our concerns to the government you have chosen to represent.

The recent arrests of senior PTI leaders during a raid on parliament on September 9 represent the heavy-handed tactics your administration and the military leadership have employed over the last couple of years.

Through transnational repression and relentless attacks on pro-democracy activists, civil society organizations, human rights groups, and the media, the military establishment, in collusion with its civilian counterparts, has made a mockery of the rule of law and democracy in Pakistan.

The continued incarceration of Imran Khan, even though all charges have been dropped, is a gross violation of international law, according to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions. Reports that he might be charged with sedition and tried in a military court represent a further travesty of justice.

As if this were not enough, there is now a concerted effort to further undermine Pakistan’s judiciary through a ‘constitutional package’ which is anything but constitutional.

As members of the Pakistani-American community with strong ties to our motherland, we are deeply invested in Pakistan’s future. However, this future is threatened by an illegitimate civilian administration subservient to a corrupt military regime.

During his visit to the United States later this month, we hope you will let General Asim Munir know the Pakistani diaspora is galvanized like never before. It is also deeply disillusioned with the Pakistani military leadership and will not rest until those responsible for repeatedly assailing the constitution are held accountable.

Until those in power change course, the Pakistani-American community and its allies will continue to agitate against the undemocratic practices of the current regime in Pakistan, both in the halls of Congress and the court of public opinion.