[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 23, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H7165]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           FOCUS ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN DISCUSSIONS WITH PAKISTAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Sherman) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran 
Khan, came to Washington this weekend. As chair of the Foreign Affairs 
Subcommittee on Asia, it is appropriate that I comment upon what has 
occurred so far in the bilateral discussions, and I look forward to 
meeting the Prime Minister later today.
  What is unfortunate is the approach taken by the Trump 
administration.
  First, as to Afghanistan, the hearts and minds of the Afghan people 
are critical to our success in what has been our longest war. Tens of 
thousands of Americans have worked to get the hearts and minds of the 
Afghan people on our side, building schools and hospitals, under very 
dangerous conditions.
  Now, the President takes this high-profile opportunity as an 
opportunity to say that he might kill 10 million Afghans, or was 
thinking about it, or raises the possibility that we would use nuclear 
weapons to destroy Afghanistan.
  This does untold harm to our efforts in Afghanistan to win the hearts 
and minds of the Afghan people.
  What the President should have done is talk about the Durand Line and 
how Afghanistan should accept this border between Afghanistan and 
Pakistan, a border that Afghanistan disputes but that the whole world 
accepts.
  As to Kashmir, it is not surprising that the Prime Minister of 
Pakistan wants America to arbitrate or mediate. That has been the 
position of Pakistan for decades. But then, the President said in 
Osaka, last month, Prime Minister Modi asked the United States to 
arbitrate or mediate the Kashmir dispute.
  That is utterly preposterous, and it is embarrassing that we have a 
President who wouldn't realize how preposterous that statement is. Of 
course, the record has been set straight by Prime Minister Modi.
  Third is what the President didn't say. He didn't make a major issue 
over Dr. Afridi, the doctor who was critical in helping us find and 
kill Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was hiding a mile away from the 
military academy of the Pakistani Army, their West Point.
  We have not demanded that the Pakistanis who helped Osama bin Laden 
be put in jail, but we do insist that the one Pakistani who helped us 
find bin Laden be released from Pakistani jail.
  The President barely raised the issue. In fact, he didn't voluntarily 
raise it at all.
  This is not just a humanitarian concern. It is also a strategic 
national security concern because who will help us fight terrorism if 
we leave Dr. Afridi behind?
  In a news interview, Prime Minister Khan suggested there might be a 
trade, where Afridi was released and a terrorist named Dr. Siddiqui 
released by the United States.
  No friendly country would demand that we release a terrorist in order 
for them to release a hero, but we have to be practical, and we have to 
get Dr. Afridi released.
  Finally, the President failed to mention with the Prime Minister of 
Pakistan the situation as to human rights. Hundreds of individuals in 
Sindh have been forcibly disappeared by Pakistani authorities.
  A prime example of that I should highlight today is a 17-year-old boy 
from Sindh, Aqib Chandio. He was abducted 14 months ago, in broad 
daylight. He is still missing.
  It is time for the Prime Minister of Pakistan to provide information 
about Aqib Chandio. Where is he? Produce him in court or release him. 
What is his fate?
  Of course, we need information about hundreds of others who have 
disappeared, including Murtaza Junejo, Shahid Junejo, Ayoub Kandhro, 
and Insaf Dayo.
  I want to mention Dr. Anwar Laghari, a friend of mine who was shot 
dead in Sindh in 2015 while working with the Sindh United Party, a 
party of which he was one of the leaders. Pakistan has not adequately 
investigated that brutal murder, and it is time for Pakistan to do so.
  Finally, we focus on the issue of forced conversions in Sindh, young 
Hindu and Christian girls forced to convert to Islam and forced to 
marry men many decades their senior. The Pakistani Government needs to 
stop this pernicious practice. They need to do more. That is why nine 
of my colleagues joined with me in sending a letter to the President, 
urging a focus on human rights in Sindh in these bilateral discussions.

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