Tag: House of Representatives

  • US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar submits resolution against India

    US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar submits resolution against India

    United States (US) Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has submitted a resolution in the House of Representatives on Tuesday in which she condemned the human rights abuses in India.

    The resolution said that the House has expressed grave concern about the “worsening treatment” of religious minorities in India and called on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to designate India as a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

    The resolution includes two reports i.e. a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and a Report on International Religious Freedom 2021 by the US State Department which was published on June 2, 2022.

    The resolution highlighted that the USCIRF had called for designating India as a country of particular concern for three consecutive years.

    According to the resolution, the report mentioned cases of the Indian government’s “repression of religious minority leaders and voices for religious pluralism in India, including the Jesuit human rights defender Father Stan Swamy and the Muslim human rights advocate Khurram Parvez”.

    According to the resolution, the report said: “Many of the incidents [on minorties] were violent, unprovoked, and/or encouraged or incited by government officials.”

    The resolution said that in the International Religious Freedom 2021 report by State Department there are numerous examples of violence and threats of violence against religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians, in India throughout 2021.

    It added that while presenting the report, Blinken himself said that “In India, the world’s largest democracy and home to a great diversity of faiths, we’ve seen rising attacks on people and places of worship.”

    In April, Omar made a visit to Pakistan’s part of Kashmir. She said the issue should get more attention from the US which prompted an angry response from India. The congresswoman has always highlighted the Kashmir issue on several platforms.

  • US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar meets PM Shehbaz and Khan: Who is she?

    Democratic United States (US) Congresswoman Ilhan Abdullah Omar landed in Islamabad on Thursday for her first ever visit to Pakistan.

    Omar met Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and President Arif Alvi. It has been reported that during the meeting with the premier, Pakistan-US bilateral relations as well as regional situations were discussed.

    She also met the former PM Imran Khan and expressed her admiration on his work against Islamophobia globally.

    During her four-day-tour, she will explore Lahore and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to have a greater understanding of Pakistan’s cultural, social, political, and economic potential, the PM’s Office said.

    The visit has come at a time when the former PM was voted out after a series of allegations against the US.

    After living in a refugee camp for four years before applying for asylum in US, Ilhan Omar became first Somali American and one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress in 2018.

    She became a US citizen in 2000 at the age of 17 and in 2016 won a seat in the Minnesota House. In 2019, Omar assumed the office as the Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 60B district.

    Born in 1982, Omar grew up in a middle-class family. Half of Omar’s childhood saw the affects of Somalia’s civil war. When she was 8, her family fled the country and ended up living in a refugee camp in Kenya for four years. When she arrived, Omar couldn’t speak English.

    She is the first hijabi woman to legislate from the House floor. Omar’s arrival in Congress resulted in the lifting of a 181-year-old ban on head coverings on the House floor.

    According to several American websites, her decision to wear the hijab was influenced by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, as she wanted to signify her cultural identity.

    Omar has always supported Kashmiris in the Indian Occupied Kashmir.

    In 2019, right after the annexation of Kashmir by Indian PM Narendra Modi, in a tweet, she said, “We should be calling for an immediate restoration of communication; respect for human rights, democratic norms, and religious freedom; and de-escalation in Kashmir.” She also urged international forums to take action.

  • US forms a commission of to investigate their failure in Afghanistan

    The US Congress has formed a commission to look into what mistakes were made during the 20-years war in Afghanistan.

    “The Commission shall conduct a comprehensive assessment of the war in Afghanistan and make recommendations to inform future operations with tactical and strategic lessons learned, including the impact of troop increases and decreases and date-certain deadlines,” the legislation said.

    President Joe Biden also reiterated that issue should be investigated within three years.

    The commission will also examine the steps taken by Biden’s three predecessors and what mistakes they might have made in handling Afghan crisis.

    The US Congress has also recommended a $768 billion defense package approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate. It would include nearly $28 billion for a nuclear weapons programs, training, equipment, command and control, advisory efforts and situational awareness.