JournalismPakistan.com
July 27, 2023

WASHINGTON—Moeed Pirzada, facing treason charges in Pakistan, has told American lawmakers that the FBI has informed him that Pakistan authorities are trying to target him.

“In May, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, called me and informed me that they fear and they have reasons to believe that the Pakistani authorities are trying target me here in Washington,” Moeed said at event in Washington on the state of Pakistan’s democracy. The event was organized by Congressmen Brad Sherman, Jim Costa, and Dr. Asif Mehmood, a Democratic candidate.

He said the FBI had connected him with the police. “I had earlier told the Washington police as well. I want to bring into your notice. FBI is in touch with me. They have given the tips to protect myself. Moeed said FBI has appointed two agents to “basically provide surveillance to me.”

Moeed said while the Congress is alive and sensitive to what is happening in Pakistan, “we have not seen any proportionate and comparable response from the (US) State Department”. A representative of the US State Department was present at the event.

He added that he had informed the State Department when he received the first threat while in Washington. He said he had been a supporter of the US foreign policy. The US foreign policy, he said, “stands vis-à-vis China, Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, Afghanistan, and Iran on human rights and freedom of expression. By ignoring what’s happening in Pakistan, the United States is compromising on its own cardinal principal, for this country stands.”