Profile: US Lawmaker Who Visited Pakistan Occupied Kashmir recently

A US lawmaker Ilhan Omar on her four-day visit to Pakistan had visited PoK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir), on Wednesday 20^th April. The lawmaker also met Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and had reportedly told the press that “On the question of Kashmir, we held a committee hearing on the foreigner affairs committee to look at reports of human rights violations and talk about bigger issue with Modi administration anti-muslim rhetoric and how that’s leading to human rights violations as well.”

India condemned the development saying it violated India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and reflected her narrow-minded politics. Later in an statement, the US distanced itself from her visit – terming it as ‘unofficial’.

Who is Ilhan Omar?

Ilhan Omar is a congresswoman from Minnesota’s 5^th Congressional district. She was sworn into office in January 2019. She is the first African refugee to become a member of congress. She is also one of the first two Muslim congresswomen in America.

Ilhan Omar (40) was born into a middle-class family in Somalia's capital city Mogadishu. She is the youngest of seven children. Ilhan in her book ‘This is What America looks like’ writes that her home had books on History and Politics (a career she later took the plunge into). She describes herself as aggressive and opinionated in her childhood.  

Following civil unrest, her family migrated to Kenya in 1991, she was 9 then. After four years of their stay in Kenya, the family upon her father's suggestion decided to move to USA. A Time article terms her migration to USA as sponsored.

Coming from another country, Ilhan Omar acquired US citizenship at the age of 17 in 2000. Ilhan took a plunge into politics upon her grandfather's advice and began her journey from Minneapolis.

Preceding her election to American lower house in 2019, she raised the issue of muslim women migration, and rights for women and minorities in her election campaigns.