The US government has selected Dr. Asif Mahmood, a Pakistani-American, as a member of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). He’s been named the Commissioner for USCIRF.
US House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries has appointed Mahmood to a key position. Mahmood, a longtime Democrat, has now become the second Pakistani-American to hold such a prominent role in any US administration.
Previously, Khizr Khan, a Gold Star father, served on the Commission from August 2021 to May 2022.
The USCIRF in its press release described Asif Mahmood as a practicing physician, human rights activist, interracial and inter-faith community organizer, and philanthropist.
He has been at the forefront of advocacy for numerous human rights campaigns, particularly those centered on South Asia.
Mahmood was a Delegate for the Democratic National Convention from 2008 to 2016 and served in various roles in presidential campaigns. Furthermore, he currently chairs the Organisation for Social Media Safety (OFSSMS)
and sits on the board of Hope the Mission, one of California’s largest homeless shelters.
Born into a lower-middle-class family in a remote village of Kharian, Punjab, Mahmood is a self-made individual. To pursue medicine, he moved to Karachi and graduated from Sindh Medical College (SMC). Since 1999, he has lived in Pasadena, California, where he practices as a leading pulmonologist and internal medicine doctor.
Mahmood played a crucial role in strategizing against the Covid-19 pandemic. He serves on the largest medical board in the USA and is known for not charging those without health insurance, believing healthcare is a basic right. Mahmood has also contributed to UNICEF and various NGOs’ philanthropic efforts.
Source: Pro Pakistani