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Mint
3 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
‘Do all you can to eliminate...': US lawmakers' message to Bilawal Bhutto-led Pakistan delegation
US lawmakers told Bilawal Bhutto-led Pakistan delegation to do all it can to eliminate 'vile' Jaish-e-Mohammed. 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.
News18
3 days ago
- Politics
- News18
'Eliminate This Vile Group': US Congressman To Pakistani Delegation On Jaish-e-Mohammed
Last Updated: US Congressman Brad Sherman told the Pakistani delegation to ensure the elimination of the "vile" Jaish-e-Mohammed, while stressing the protection of religious minorities. In a strong rebuke, senior US lawmaker Brad Sherman told the visiting Pakistani delegation led by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari that the country should do 'all it can" to eliminate the 'vile" terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), as well as ensure the protection of religious minorities. The JeM has been responsible for several terrorist attacks against India and was also behind the abduction and execution of American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. 'I emphasised to the Pakistani delegation the importance of combating terrorism, and in particular, the group Jaish-e-Mohammed, who murdered my constituent Daniel Pearl in 2002," said Sherman on X. '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. The protection of religious minorities in Pakistan remains an important issue," he added. Sherman said Christians, Hindus, and Ahmadiyya Muslims living in Pakistan must be allowed to practice their faith and participate in a democratic system without the fear of violence, persecution and discrimination. The Pakistani delegation, led by Bilawal Bhutto, met Sherman in Washington on Thursday, around the same time as a multi-party delegation of Indian parliamentarians led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was in the US capital. Seven all-party delegations had travelled to various countries, briefing key interlocutors about Operation Sindoor in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and India's strong resolve to fight terrorism emanating from Pakistan. Sherman also urged the Pakistani delegation to relay to their government the need to free Dr Shakil Afridi, who continues to languish in prison for helping the United States kill Osama bin Laden. 'Freeing Dr Afridi represents an important step in bringing closure for victims of 9/11," he said. Afridi is a Pakistani physician who helped the Central Investigation Agency (CIA) run a polio vaccination programme in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to collect DNA samples of bin Laden's family. He was arrested shortly after bin Laden's death in Abbottabad in May 2011 and sentenced to 33 years in prison. About the Author Aveek Banerjee Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from geopolitics to diplomacy and global trends. Stay informed with the latest world news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) pakistan Pakistan terrorism US Congressman US lawmakers First Published: News world 'Eliminate This Vile Group': US Congressman To Pakistani Delegation On Jaish-e-Mohammed
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
'Should do all it can': Pakistan delegation gets earful; US lawmaker tells Bilawal Bhutto to eliminate Jaish-e-Mohammad
NEW DELHI: US Congressman Brad Sherman on Thursday made a pointed advise to a Pakistani delegation, led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, that the country should "do all it can" to eliminate terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad from the region and ensure protection of religious minorities in the country. In a social media post on X, Sherman said that he emphasised to the Pakistani delegation the importance of combatting terrorism and, in particular, the group Jaish-e-Mohammed, who murdered Daniel Pearl in 2002. "I emphasized 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," the Congressman said. "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," he added. Daniel was kidnapped by jihadi terrorists in January 2002 while he was on his way to what he had expected would be an interview with Pakistani religious cleric Mubarak Ali Gilani in Karachi. The US lawmaker also told the Pakistani delegation that 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.' Sherman further urged the Pakistani delegation to relay to their government the need to free Dr Shakil Afridi, who continues to languish in prison for helping the United States kill Osama bin Laden. 'Freeing Dr Afridi represents an important step in bringing closure for victims of 9/11,' he said. Afridi is a Pakistani physician who helped the CIA run a polio vaccination programme in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to collect DNA samples of bin Laden's family. Afridi was arrested by Pakistani authorities shortly after the American raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad in May 2011. In 2012, a Pakistani court sentenced Afridi to 33 years in prison. The Pakistani delegation timed its 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. The all-party delegation is briefing key interlocutors about Operation Sindoor in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and India's strong resolve to fight terrorism emanating from Pakistan. Bhutto also landed in the US at the same time as the Tharoor-led delegation. Bhutto met UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres with his delegation as well as Security Council Ambassadors in New York and later travelled to Washington in Pakistan's bid to internationalise the conflict with India as well as the Kashmir issue, but instead got instructed to deal with terrorism emanating from its soil.
NDTV
26-04-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
"Worsening Climate Of Fear" For Pak Minorities: US Religious Freedom Body
New York: Finding "a worsening religious and political climate of fear, intolerance, and violence" for minorities in Pakistan, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has asked President Donald Trump's administration to take strong measures against the Islamic Republic. It urged the US government to impose sanctions on Pakistani officials and agencies responsible for the "serious violations of religious freedoms" in that country, freezing their assets and barring them from entering the US. "Religious minority communities -- particularly Christians, Hindus, and Shia and Ahmadiyya Muslims -- continued to bear the brunt of persecution and prosecutions under Pakistan's strict blasphemy law and to suffer violence from both the police and mobs," the religious freedom body said in its annual report. "Those responsible for such violence rarely faced legal consequences," it said. To counter these recurring developments, the commission asked the government to "redesignate Pakistan as a 'country of particular concern (CPC)'," for its "systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom." It urged the government to lift the existing waiver for Pakistan so that it can take the legally mandated actions due to its designation as a CPC. The State Department has in the past issued Islamabad waivers citing what it stated was the need to maintain a "constructive relationship for broader strategic goals." The USCIRF found that the blasphemy laws were responsible for much of the violence against minorities and suggested several steps the US should take to ensure minorities in Pakistan are protected. "Accusations of blasphemy and subsequent mob violence continued to severely impact religious minority communities," it said. It asked the US government to "enter into a binding agreement with the Pakistani government" to protect minorities that would require Islamabad to repeal blasphemy laws and release prisoners held under the blasphemy laws or for their religious beliefs. Till the laws are repealed, according to the USCIRF, the accused should be eligible for bail, and those making false accusations should be prosecuted under the country's penal code. Pakistan should also be made to hold "accountable individuals who incite or participate in vigilante violence, targeted killings, forced conversion, and other religiously based crimes," it said. Citing a report by a United Nations expert group, the USCIRF said that there was a 'worsening pattern of forced conversions among Pakistan's minority Christian and Hindu women and girls." The experts found that "local authorities often dismiss forced marriages, in which women and girls are obliged to convert to Islam, and the court system likewise validates them," it added.
