WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden has appointed a Pakistani-American lawyer, Khizr Khan, as head of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
The White House in its statement recognised Khan, who is a sharp critic of Donald Trump as “an advocate for religious freedom as a core element of human dignity.”
The announcement said that the Pakistan-American lawyer “devotes a substantial amount of his time to providing legal services to veterans, men and women serving in uniform, and their families.”
It continued: “Today’s announcement underscores the President’s commitment to build an Administration that looks like America and reflects people of all faiths.”
In addition to Khan, Biden nominated Rashad Hussain to serve as the first Muslim Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom and Deborah Lipstadt to serve as the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism.
Who is Khizr Khan
After immigrating to the United States from Pakistan in 1980, Khizr Khan, who was born in Gujranwala, attended Harvard Law School and obtained his LL.M degree. He is licensed to practice law before the Supreme Court of the United States, various Federal District Courts, and Washington, DC and New York State courts. In his law practice, he devotes a substantial amount of his time to providing legal services to veterans, men and women serving in uniform, and their families.
Khizr Khan is a Gold Star parent of U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan. Capt. Humayun Khan was a University of Virginia graduate who was killed while serving in Iraq as he stopped an attack on his camp and saved the lives of scores of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with Valor. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery Section 60 with full military honors.
Khizr Khan lives in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is author of three books, including An American Family-A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice, Founding Documents of the United States of America, and This is Our Constitution.
