Washington, DC [US], June 7 (ANI): In a notable diplomatic move, US Congressman Brad Sherman raised urgent human rights concerns affecting the Sindhi population during a recent meeting with a visiting Pakistani delegation.
Congressman Sherman, a senior member of the US House of Representatives, expressed alarm over issues such as water scarcity, enforced disappearances, and systemic repression in Sindh province. Taking to social media, he emphasized the dire need to protect the Indus River, describing it as the “lifeline for tens of millions of Sindhis.” He added, “Protecting this vital water resource is essential,” highlighting the severe environmental and humanitarian crises facing the region.
Sherman also pointed to the recent unrest in Moro, Sindh, where two protesters, Irfan and Zahid Laghari, were reportedly killed while advocating for water rights. “For years, Sindhis have faced political repression through enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings,” he stated, referencing data from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, which has documented over 8,000 enforced disappearances since 2011 — many of which remain uninvestigated.
The Congressman assured that he personally raised the issue of disappearances with Pakistani officials during their visit and reaffirmed his commitment to pursuing accountability and justice for the victims.
The Washington-based Sindhi Foundation praised Sherman’s advocacy and confirmed that it had also reached out to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding the situation in Sindh. In its statement, the organization detailed multiple threats to the region’s stability and cultural identity, including the illegal construction of canals on the Indus River for corporate agriculture, ongoing forced disappearances of political activists, alleged tampering with the 2023 census to alter Karachi’s demographics, and systematic efforts to marginalize the Sindhi language and divide the province along linguistic lines.
“The Sindhi Foundation will continue to raise these pressing issues in political corridors across the U.S. and the world until the freedom and rights of the Sindhi people are fully realized,” the organization stated.
This development marks a rare moment in which Sindh’s human rights issues have been spotlighted at the highest levels of US foreign policy discourse, drawing renewed international attention to the long-standing grievances of the Sindhi population. (ANI)
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