US lawmaker tells Pak delegation to eliminate ‘vile’ terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed
Washington (PTI): 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.
In a 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 my constituent Daniel Pearl in 2002”.
Terrorist Omar Saeed Sheikh was convicted of orchestrating the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
Sherman said Pearl’s family continues to live in his district and “Pakistan should do all it can to eliminate this vile group and combat terrorism in the region”.
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.
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.
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UP: Gunmen open fire at patient inside Aligarh hospital, flee; victim critical
Aligarh (UP) (PTI): Two armed assailants allegedly walked into a hospital here and fired at a man who was undergoing treatment at the facility, injuring him severely, a senior police official said on Tuesday.
Aligarh Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Neeraj Kumar Jadaun told reporters that the victim has been identified as Vedpal (32), a resident of a village in Khair police station area. He was rushed to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital following the incident, and his condition remains critical.
One person has been arrested in this connection, while hunt is on to nab the two shooters, he added.
Citing information provided by Vedpal's family, the SSP said Vedpal had developed relationship with a girl from Mathura and was planning to marry her soon. However, the girl's family -- including her father, who is a police constable -- opposed this proposal and arranged her marriage elsewhere last month.
Despite this, Vedpal continued attempting to contact the girl. He even went to meet her family last month, where he was severely beaten up and warned with dire consequences if he kept pursuing the matter.
According to the family, Vedpal was admitted to a local hospital two days ago to undergo surgery for the injuries sustained during the earlier beating.
The SSP said based on CCTV footage, police have identified the attackers; one of them is the girl's brother, also a police constable posted in a neighbouring district.
He said the details of the incident have been forwarded to the police headquarters to facilitate departmental action against the police personnel involved in the crime.
The girl's father -- a police constable posted in Baghpat district -- has been arrested in the cae, while the police are searching for the two armed assailants.
