Page 15 - Pakistan Link - November 24, 2023

COMMUNITY PAKISTAN LINK - NOVEMBER 24, 2023 - P15

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Adeel Mangi Nominated as First Muslim that “Adeel Mangi’s nomination gives
Biden has nominated Adeel A. Mangi hope to immigrants that when they
for a federal judgeship, and if con- work hard, their talents are recognized
firmed, he would be the first Muslim- Judge for Circuit Court by President Biden in this country”.
American and the first Pakistani on any Senator Cory Booker, a member of
US circuit court. the US Senate’s judiciary committee,
Mr Mangi, from a prominent Sin- worked at Partner at Patterson Belknap Against the backdrop of rising Is- applauded the nomination.
dhi family, is among five nominees Webb & Tyler in New York as a civil lamophobia and threats faced by the “Having come to know Adeel Man-
for federal judgeships released by the litigator representing an array of clients Muslim community, Mr Mangi’s nomi- gi over the years as a fixture in the New
White House. in complex high-stakes cases. nation comes at a crucial time. Jersey legal community, I have seen
His nomination aligns with the ad- He has devoted thousands of hours Push for diversity firsthand that he is a person of integrity
ministration’s commitment to diversify to pro bono service, filed numerous President Biden’s push for diversity and deep conviction with an unflinch-
the judiciary. He has been nominated amicus briefs in the federal appellate in judicial appointments, especially in ing commitment to fairness and equal-
for the 3rd US Circuit Court of Ap- courts and before the US Supreme the face of geopolitical challenges like ity,” said Booker.
peals, based in Philadelphia, and cov- Court on behalf of cross-faith reli- the Middle East, reflects a broader “I thank President Biden for this
ers the states of Pennsylvania, New Jer- gious coalitions, and, among his many commitment to addressing concerns historic nomination, and I look for-
sey, Delaware, and the Virgin Islands. other legal accomplishments, success- within various communities. ward to introducing Adeel Mangi to
Born in Karachi, Mr Mangi received fully fought on behalf of Muslim com- All five nominees need to be con- my colleagues on the Senate Judi¬ciary
his law degree from the University of munities seeking to build and open firmed by the US Senate before they Committee for his hearing.”
Oxford in 1998. He attended Lincoln’s mosques. are appointed. The nomination comes two
Inn and the Inns of Court School of The White House emphasized his The Sindhi Association of North years after the Senate voted to con-
Law in London, qualifying as a British experience handling court filings, in- American (SANA) welcomed Mr Man- firm the first Muslim-American
Barrister at Law in 1999. cluding representing a multi-faith co- Adeel A. Mangi has been nominated gi’s nomination. Dr Maqbool Halepo- federal judge, Zahid Quraishi, who
He received his LLM from Har- alition in a case before the Supreme by US President Joe Biden for federal to, its president, and Mushtaq Rajpar, now serves on a district court for
vard Law School in 2000 and has since Court. judgeship — Reuters general secretary, said in a statement New Jersey. - Dawn

n By Elaine Pasquini Ambassador Masood Khan Urges Investment

SAN FRANCISCO: During the An- in Pakistan’s Tech and Tourism Industries
nual Open Silicon Valley Forum of
2023 in the first week
of November, Masood (Continued on page 23)
Khan, Pakistan’s Am-
bassador to the United
States, told attendees
the tech entrepreneur-
ship in Pakistan has
taken off and the country is “leapfrog-
ging into a new era of tech industry. A
new class of professionals graduating
from universities is participating in
digitized economy and this is giving a
new direction to our economy.” “With the digitization of necessary information, including bookings, lodging,
In addition, he noted, the Pakistani transportation and availability of accurate information, the tourism sector
government has created an enabling of Pakistan would witness a transformative change. Your early participation
environment for the growth of the tech would pay you off well,” Ambassador Khan said
and IT sectors including the forma-
tion of a Special Investment Facilita- tion of intellectual property rights and Bank of Pakistan and setting up Special
tion Council aimed at fast-tracking addressing the issues related to repa- Technology Zones.
approvals and registrations, overseeing triation of funds by foreign investors. All this progress is happening de-
implementation and catalyzing much- Other steps being taken to facilitate spite the country’s recent economic,
needed regulatory reforms, including ease of doing business include an E- political, pandemic and climate chal-
ensuring stable payment cycles, protec- Wallet facility introduced by the State lenges.

n By Anwar Iqbal Ms Mazari, Khadija Shah and Mr Khan.
Washington US Lawmakers Seek ‘Suspension’ “We believe that the United States

ing positive change, and it is our hope
leven members of the US Con- of Assistance to Pakistan can play a constructive role in support-
gress, in a letter to US Secretary that our cooperation can contribute
Eof State Anthony Blinken, have to a more just and equitable future for
urged the Biden administration to “We are extremely concerned The move was initiated by Congress- Khan and his cabinet members”. the people of Pakistan,” the lawmakers
withhold future US assistance to Paki- about the passing of the Criminal Law woman Ilhan Omar, who is one of the While acknowledging Pakistan’s sig- wrote.
stan, until the country restores consti- (Amendment) Bill, 2023 which will champions of Muslim causes in the US nificance as a long-standing ally, the law- They also offered to work with Secre-
tutional order and holds free and fair strengthen the existing blasphemy law, Congress. Other signatories include makers also stressed the need to address tary Blinken to promote human rights,
elections. which has historically been used to per- Frank Pallone Jr, Joaquin Castro, Sum- issues like restrictions on freedom of ex- democracy, and stability in Pakistan.
The lawmakers requested a legal de- secute religious minorities,” the lawmak- mer Lee, Ted W. Lieu, Dina Titus, Lloyd pression, speech, and religion, enforced However, it remains unclear how the
termination from the Department of ers wrote. Doggett and Cori Bush. disappearances, military courts and the US government, particularly the De-
State under the Leahy Laws and Section They pointed out that the bill, which Most of them are members of the harassment and arrest of political oppo- partment of State, will respond to these
502(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act to is yet to be signed by the president, was progressive group within Congress, nents and human rights defenders. concerns and whether it will impact the
assess if US-origin security assistance “passed in haste despite repeated calls which played a key role in highlighting Addressing ongoing harassment and dynamics of the US-Pakistan relation-
had facilitated human rights violations from many lawmakers for a thorough the Palestinian issue in Washington and arrests, the lawmakers mentioned the ship.
in Pakistan. parliamentary procedure.” also participates in protest meetings and cases against PTI chief Imran Khan as In Washington, the focus on human
“We further request that future secu- The letter also pointed out that on rallies held to demand an immediate well, noting that he could potentially rights violations underscores the delicate
rity assistance be withheld until Pakistan August 16, eight days after the bill was ceasefire in Gaza. face the death penalty for allegedly vio- balance between geopolitical alliances
has moved decisively toward the resto- passed, a mob desecrated churches In its latest report on Pakistan, the US lating the Official Secrets Act. and the promotion of democratic values
ration of Constitutional order, includ- and set fire to homes of Christians in Commission on International Religious The letter also mentioned Imaan on the global stage. The State Depart-
ing by holding free and fair elections in Jaranwala. It also referred to reported Freedom noted that “religious minori- Mazari, a human rights lawyer, who ment has been markedly careful while
which all parties are able to participate protests against the bill, including by ties were especially vulnerable to pros- was taken from her home at 3am with- commenting on the current political
freely,” they wrote. the Shia community in Gilgit-Baltis- ecution or violence based on blasphemy out an arrest warrant after speaking situation in Pakistan.
The country’s moves to further tan. allegations” and “blasphemy cases re- at a rally against enforced disappear- The issue has been raised regularly at
strengthen the blasphemy law also fig- “Religious persecution remains mained a substantial threat to religious ances. the State Department’s daily briefings,
ured prominently in the letter, which rampant in Pakistan, and we are con- freedom.” The letter urged the US Embassy in where the spokesperson has carefully
warned Secretary Blinken that the pro- cerned about future restrictions on The report also noted that the previ- Islamabad to send observers to hearings avoided making statements that could
posed changes would be used to further freedom of religion and belief should ous government in Pakistan had “wea- and other legal proceedings of human be interpreted as an expression of sup-
tighten the noose around smaller reli- this Bill become law,” the lawmakers ponized the country’s blasphemy laws rights defenders and political dissidents, port for either the government or the
gious groups and minorities. warned. against former Prime Minister Imran including for emblematic cases such as opposition. - Dawn
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