‘Do all you can to eliminate...': US lawmakers' message to Bilawal Bhutto-led Pakistan delegation
Congressman Brad Sherman said on Friday he met former Pakistan minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan's Ambassador Sheikh and House Foreign Affairs leadership for a "candid conversation about regional tensions following last month's India-Pakistan conflict, democracy in Pakistan, & counterterrorism in the region."
In a series of posts on X, Sherman said he "emphasised to the Pakistani delegation the importance of combatting terrorism, and in particular, the group Jaish-e-Mohammed, who murdered my constituent Daniel Pearl in 2002."
"Pearl's family continues to live in my district, and Pakistan should do all it can to eliminate this vile group and combat terrorism in the region," Sherman said.
Terrorist Omar Saeed Sheikh was convicted of orchestrating the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
He added that "water rights" along the Indus River was a major point of discussion during the meeting. He said, "India should not take any adverse actions towards Pakistan to restrict the Indus" and that "China should not take any adverse actions towards India to restrict water in the region."
He said, "Within Pakistan, water flowing through Punjab and Sindh must remain accessible to the millions of Pakistanis who rely on the Indus to survive."
Sherman also said the protection of religious minorities in Pakistan remains an important issue. "Christians, Hindus, and Ahmadiyya Muslims living in Pakistan must be allowed to practice their faith and participate in the democratic system without fear of violence, persecution, discrimination, or an unequal justice system," he said.
Bhutto-led Pakistani delegation met Congressman Brad Sherman in Washington on Thursday, timing their visit to the US capital around the same time as a multi-party delegation of Indian parliamentarians led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is in Washington DC.
Bhutto met UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres with his delegation as well as Security Council Ambassadors in New York.
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