Bilawal Bhutto Scolded by U.S. Lawmaker Over Jaish-e-Mohammed, Minority Rights

Bilawal Bhutto Scolded by U.S. Lawmaker: A senior American lawmaker has told a visiting Pakistani delegation, led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, that the country should do "all it can" to eliminate the "vile" terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed as well as ensure protection of religious minorities.

The Pakistani delegation met Congressman Brad Sherman here 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.

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.

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After meeting Bilawal Bhutto, Sherman took to the social media platform ‘X’ and said, “I 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.”

He was referring to a Wall Street Journal journalist, Pearl, who was kidnapped and killed by terrorists in Pakistan. Omar Saeed Sheikh was convicted of planning the crime.

Sherman added that Pearl’s family still lives in his district and stressed, “Pakistan should do all it can to eliminate this vile group and combat terrorism in the region.”

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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.

On this occasion, Brad Sherman also strongly demanded the release of Dr. Shakeel Afridi. Afridi is the same doctor who helped America capture Osama bin Laden. Afridi had helped the CIA in collecting bin Laden's DNA through the polio vaccination program. He was sentenced to 33 years in prison by a Pakistani court in 2012. Sherman called it an injustice to the victims of 9/11 and said that "Afridi's release will be an important signal for America."

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