Roshaan Khattak

Early day motion 1661, tabled 14 July 2025 by John McDonnell (Independent). Signed by 9 members.

That this House is alarmed at Cambridge University’s failure to respond to security concerns surrounding a postgraduate researcher facing threats believed to come from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence; notes that the researcher concerned, Roshaan Khattak, is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker and academic whose proposed doctorate at Cambridge investigates enforced disappearances and other genocidal crimes in Balochistan, a region of Pakistan intersected by China's multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative; condemns the university's instruction that Roshaan Khattak leave the college accommodation by 30 June 2025, which removed any institutional protection that being a student offers, and refused to do any risk assessments or offer advice; is further concerned that as authoritarian regimes grow more aggressive, academics researching politically sensitive topics will continue to face serious threats; calls on Cambridge University to publish clear university procedures for handling transnational repression and its effect on academic freedom; and further calls on the university to reinstate Roshaan Khattak’s PhD progression.

Signatures by party: Independent 3, Green 2, Conservative 1, DUP 1, Labour 1, Scottish National Party 1.