Dr. Abdul El Sayed, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate from Michigan, has faulted the erosion of democracy in Pakistan and called for the protection of incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan, who this week alleged he is being tortured in solitary confinement.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Pakistan Association of America in Michigan to mark U.S. and Pakistani independence celebrations, El Sayed—who has emerged as a prominent political voice after his primary victory—also condemned military rule in Egypt, his parents’ country of origin.
“The only reason I am running is because I was born in the United States. My family immigrated from Egypt, where there is no democracy, there is military dictatorship,” he said.
Turning to Pakistan, El Sayed described democracy as “a precious thing, the beautiful thing,” but warned that the country is failing to uphold it.
*Democratic party Senate nominee from Michigan Dr Abdul El-Sayed criticized the imprisonment of Imran Khan and said “democracy is not being allowed to take its place” in Pakistan.*
*He compared the regime in Pakistan to the military dictatorship in Egypt, where his parents… pic.twitter.com/jQNGq0Sqla
— Samrina Hashmi (@samrinahashmi) August 24, 2026
“On the 79th anniversary of Pakistan, we have to be clear that right now democracy is not being allowed to take its place,” he remarked.
In an apparent reference to Imran Khan—who has been detained for more than three years and his party denied open participation in the democratic process—El Sayed observed:
“It is important for us to recognize that democracy requires that all people get to run for public office rather than be subject to jailing and intimidation simply because they would have a voice in public office.”
“Whatever one feels about the former prime minister of Pakistan, I think all of us agree that democracy only works when we have the freedom of our speech, and our own freedom to articulate and run for public office,” he emphasized.
Pakistan: “A lion trapped in a cage: Imran Khan’s ongoing solitary confinement is an inhuman cruelty. The international order has remained conspicuously silent about Khan’s ordeal, but a coalition of cricket captains remains hopeful.” https://t.co/h8kB2WaqzV
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) August 24, 2026
Islamabad has not yet responded to El Sayed’s remarks. However, Pakistani authorities have consistently maintained that the country has a functioning democratic government in place and that Khan is receiving medical care at the government-run PIMS hospital in the capital and is medically fit.
Last week, the Supreme Court ordered that Khan be examined and treated at Islamabad’s Shifa private hospital. Instead, authorities took him to a government facility, where his sister, Dr. Uzma Khan, was present, but his personal physician was barred from participating in the examination.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party has since filed a contempt of court petition against the federal government, accusing it of defying the Supreme Court’s order and denying the former prime minister proper treatment at a non-governmental facility. The legal standoff continues to fuel concerns over judicial authority and political rights in the country.
Ali Imran is a Washington-based journalist, who has worked for leading world news organizations as a correspondent, expert and in editorial positions. He is a published author and poet.
