Interesting article and I liked the paragraph in bold:
WASHINGTON: The arrest of a Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad by US law enforcement authorities in connection with the Times Square terror plot will once again put the focus on Preet Bharara, the India-born US Federal Attorney, who is already under attack in some Pakistani quarters for allegedly carrying out a "witch-hunt" against Pakistanis in the US.
Bharara, 41, who is one of the 93 US Attorneys appointed the US President, heads the US Attorney's office for the Southern District in New York, which covers Manhattan, where the attempted bombing took place, and JFK Airport, where terror suspect Faisal Shahzad was arrested.
Bharara, who was born in Ferozepur, Punjab, and moved to the US with his parents when he was only two, grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Harvard in 1990 and Columbia Law School in 1993 (which are also President Obama's alma mater), before embarking on a legal and political path where he was marked as a rising star very early in his career.
Obama appointed him US Attorney in the summer of 2009, and in the months since, he has handled several high-profile prosecution cases including that of Ponzi scammer Bernie Madoff and 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
But in a vicious attack some weeks back, a Pakistani newspaper accused Bharara of carrying out a witch-hunt against Pakistanis in the US because of his "ideological beliefs" going back to the sub-continent's partition days.
The Nation newspaper also alleged that Bharara appointed a "like-minded controversial Indian who is also known for his hatred and venomous propaganda against Pakistan, Anjan Sahni, as Chief of the Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit soon after he assumed the charge of US Federal Attorney of New York."
But there is very little in Bharara's life or career that points to any prejudice or bias. In fact, among the prosecutions he is handling is one against the Galleon Group, where defendants include Sri Lankan Raj Rajaratnam and Indian-Americans Anil Kumar and Rajiv Goel. Although a Democrat (he worked on New York Senator Charles Schumer's staff before being appointed US Attorney), he has earned praise across party lines.
Bharara's father is a Sikh and his mother is Hindu and they both moved from what became Pakistan to the Indian side during partition. But his father-in-law is a Muslim who moved in the other direction and his mother-in-law is from Palestine and is of Jewish origin.
In a statement following Shahzad's arrest, Bharara said "the dedicated agents, detectives, and prosecutors on this case will continue to follow every lead and use every tool to keep the people of New York City safe," and pledged that "we will not rest until every terrorist, whether homegrown or foreign-based, is neutralized and held to account."
Shahzad is not the first Pakistani-American to be arrested in the US in connection with terrorism. Besides the infamous Daood Gilani alias David Coleman Headley, there have been several recent cases where Pakistani-Americans have been apprehended, including one involving Chicago cab driver Raja Lahrasib Khan in March this year.
In fact, almost every terror plot unearthed in the United States, going back to World Trade Center I attack in 1993 and the 9/11 catastrophe, has its footprints and fingerprints of its so-called ally Pakistan, and not the usual American suspects such as Iran or Syria, much less outliers such as Cuba and Venezuela.
More recently, US experts have warned of attempts by al-Qaida and their terror affiliates to use US citizens of Pakistani origin, who meld easily into American society (such as David Headley, and now Faisal Shahzad) for terrorist attacks.
The warnings led to Washington instituting extra scrutiny for fliers from Pakistan and 13 other "countries of interest," but a TSA directive this effect was withdrawn after a major tantrum by Pakistan that its nationals were being unfairly singled out.
Squaring off in US: Preet Bharara vs Pakistani-Americans - US - World - The Times of India
WASHINGTON: The arrest of a Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad by US law enforcement authorities in connection with the Times Square terror plot will once again put the focus on Preet Bharara, the India-born US Federal Attorney, who is already under attack in some Pakistani quarters for allegedly carrying out a "witch-hunt" against Pakistanis in the US.
Bharara, 41, who is one of the 93 US Attorneys appointed the US President, heads the US Attorney's office for the Southern District in New York, which covers Manhattan, where the attempted bombing took place, and JFK Airport, where terror suspect Faisal Shahzad was arrested.
Bharara, who was born in Ferozepur, Punjab, and moved to the US with his parents when he was only two, grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Harvard in 1990 and Columbia Law School in 1993 (which are also President Obama's alma mater), before embarking on a legal and political path where he was marked as a rising star very early in his career.
Obama appointed him US Attorney in the summer of 2009, and in the months since, he has handled several high-profile prosecution cases including that of Ponzi scammer Bernie Madoff and 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
But in a vicious attack some weeks back, a Pakistani newspaper accused Bharara of carrying out a witch-hunt against Pakistanis in the US because of his "ideological beliefs" going back to the sub-continent's partition days.
The Nation newspaper also alleged that Bharara appointed a "like-minded controversial Indian who is also known for his hatred and venomous propaganda against Pakistan, Anjan Sahni, as Chief of the Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit soon after he assumed the charge of US Federal Attorney of New York."
But there is very little in Bharara's life or career that points to any prejudice or bias. In fact, among the prosecutions he is handling is one against the Galleon Group, where defendants include Sri Lankan Raj Rajaratnam and Indian-Americans Anil Kumar and Rajiv Goel. Although a Democrat (he worked on New York Senator Charles Schumer's staff before being appointed US Attorney), he has earned praise across party lines.
Bharara's father is a Sikh and his mother is Hindu and they both moved from what became Pakistan to the Indian side during partition. But his father-in-law is a Muslim who moved in the other direction and his mother-in-law is from Palestine and is of Jewish origin.
In a statement following Shahzad's arrest, Bharara said "the dedicated agents, detectives, and prosecutors on this case will continue to follow every lead and use every tool to keep the people of New York City safe," and pledged that "we will not rest until every terrorist, whether homegrown or foreign-based, is neutralized and held to account."
Shahzad is not the first Pakistani-American to be arrested in the US in connection with terrorism. Besides the infamous Daood Gilani alias David Coleman Headley, there have been several recent cases where Pakistani-Americans have been apprehended, including one involving Chicago cab driver Raja Lahrasib Khan in March this year.
In fact, almost every terror plot unearthed in the United States, going back to World Trade Center I attack in 1993 and the 9/11 catastrophe, has its footprints and fingerprints of its so-called ally Pakistan, and not the usual American suspects such as Iran or Syria, much less outliers such as Cuba and Venezuela.
More recently, US experts have warned of attempts by al-Qaida and their terror affiliates to use US citizens of Pakistani origin, who meld easily into American society (such as David Headley, and now Faisal Shahzad) for terrorist attacks.
The warnings led to Washington instituting extra scrutiny for fliers from Pakistan and 13 other "countries of interest," but a TSA directive this effect was withdrawn after a major tantrum by Pakistan that its nationals were being unfairly singled out.
Squaring off in US: Preet Bharara vs Pakistani-Americans - US - World - The Times of India
