Pakistani PM to address Lankan parliament amid Muslim human rights concerns.

Sri Lankan Muslim community leaders were pinning their hopes on Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan addressing their human rights concerns during his historic visit to the island nation later this month.

Premier Khan is due to arrive in the capital Colombo on Feb. 23 where he is expected to hold talks with key government officials and party leaders.

Sri Lanka’s parliament speaker, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, said that the Pakistani PM was slated to address the legislature the following day.

Khan will become the third Pakistani head of state to address the Lankan parliament, after former President Gen. Mohammed Ayub Khan (1963) and Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1975).

Former Indian premier, Jawaharlal Nehru, also addressed the Lankan parliament in 1962, followed by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1985. More recently, Indian PM Narendra Modi spoke to the legislature in 2015.

During his two-day visit to the country, Khan is expected to hold talks with Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.

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