A bipartisan group of 10 influential American lawmakers on Saturday, 20 July, asked US President Donald Trump to raise the issue of human rights abuses in the Sindh province in his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan that is due in Washington on Monday.
Khan on Saturday left for his maiden trip to the US to have face-to-face talks with Trump and ‘refresh’ bilateral relations that were hit after he publicly criticised Islamabad, cancelled military aid and asked it to do more to fight terrorism.
Signatories to the letter to Trump include Congressmen Brad Sherman, Ann Wagner, Adam B Schiff, Jan Schakowsky, Eleanor H Norton, Carolyn B Maloney, David E Price, Juan Vargas, David Schweikert and Dan Crenshaw.
Khan is scheduled to meet Trump at the White House on Monday.
Since 2001, the US has given Pakistan more than $30 billion in various kinds of assistance.
This aid was supposed to improve social and economic conditions in Pakistan, as well as promote good governance.
This is the first time that ten members of Congress have written a letter to the US President on the Sindh issues.
Democrat as well as Republican members of Congress have signed the letter. Maqbool Halepota, president of Sindhi American Political Action Committee (SAPAC) in a statement emphasised on the importance of raising issues faced by Sindhis in Pakistan on a global level.
‘Nowhere is the failure more evident than in Sindh Province, which has continued to suffer from numerous economic and social injustices often at the hands of Pakistani government,’ stated the letter.
One recent example of this is the HIV outbreak impacting parts of Sindh Province, the Congressmen wrote.
The letter also stated that other injustices in Sindh province are deliberately carried out by the Pakistani state and its supporters.
The Congressmen alleged the Pakistani government terrorises Sindh Province through enforced disappearances.
They alleged that hundreds of people in Sindh have disappeared.
‘As you seek to change Pakistani behaviour on issues like terrorism, it is essential that you also push the Pakistani government to improve the lives of its citizens,’ wrote the Congressmen.
‘For this reason, we urge you to bring up these issues in your conversation with Prime Minister Khan,’ added the letter.
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