US body seeks sanctions on RSS. It's led by Pak-origin man with Kashmir history

Weeks before RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s planned visit to the United States, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a federal body tasked with monitoring religious freedom worldwide, has called for sanctions against the organisation for allegedly "perpetuating attacks on religious minorities". The USCIRF is headed by Asif Mahmood, a Pakistan-born American citizen, who has maintained close ties with his homeland's political and diplomatic leadership.Under Mahmood's leadership, the USCIRF has repeatedly accused India of "persecuting religious minorities". Mahmood, has had close relations with Pakistani politicians across parties and has lobbied for Kashmir.In a post on X, USCIRF released a statement by Commissioner Gene Mills, who said RSS leaders, even when affiliated with the Indian government, should not be accorded high-level meetings or diplomatic courtesies in the US. "Instead, the USG (US Government) should focus on imposing sanctions on RSS members found responsible for FoRB (freedom of religious belief) violations," the statement said.The commission also released a statement by its chairperson, Asif Mahmood, who said, "India's PM Modi is a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an Indian umbrella organisation whose subgroups have perpetrated attacks on religious minorities, including Christians and Muslims. Now the RSS leader, Mohan Bhagwat, plans to visit the US." These statements come even as US Ambassador, Sergio Gor, called the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir an integral part of India and asserted that America would reconsider downgrading its highest-level travel warning for the erstwhile state.On paper, USCIRF is an independent body tasked with monitoring religious-freedom violations worldwide. Its commissioners are appointed by the US President and the leadership of the Republican and Democratic parties, a structure intended to ensure the commission's bipartisan and impartial character. But the same commission, under the leadership of an individual who, by his own admission, maintains cordial ties with political parties across Pakistan's political spectrum, has called for sanctioning the RSS. Interestingly, under Pakistan-born Mahmood, USCIRF has continued to push for India to be designated a "Country of Particular Concern" over trumped-up charges of religious-freedom violations."Asif Mahmood’s longstanding ties to Pakistan’s political and diplomatic establishment should be noted," Hindu-American activist Vasant Bhatt wrote in a post on X, questioning why Mahmood, who now chairs an ostensibly independent US religious-freedom commission, maintains "such close and visible relationships" with Pakistan’s diplomatic establishment.Bhatt also stressed the importance of the USCIRF maintaining its neutrality, arguing that an independent federal commission should be "obsessively careful about appearing impartial". He questioned why Mahmood would cultivate "politically intimate" ties with the diplomatic apparatus of a foreign state whose regional interests intersect with countries the commission publicly scrutinises.WHAT IS THE USCRIF?The USCRIF assesses countries, conducts hearings and research, and makes recommendations to the US President, Secretary of State, and the US Congress on foreign policy decision-making, including sanctions and other measures against governments or individuals accused of religious-freedom violations.The USCIRF has repeatedly called for designating India as a country of particular concern, including in 2025, when it accused New Delhi of "engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA)".In March this year, the Commission called for targeted sanctions in the form of asset freezing and barring entry to the US against the officials of India's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), citing concerns related to alleged human rights violations and issues surrounding religious freedom.It had also recommended the US government to conduct a "review assessing whether arms sales to India, such as MQ-9B drones under Section 36 of the Arms Export Control Act, may contribute to or exacerbate religious freedom violations."ASIF MAHMOOD, HEAD OF THE USCRIF, WAS BORN, RAISED IN PAKAsif Mahmood is a Pakistani-American pulmonologist and doctor of internal medicine. The USCIRF website describes him as "a practising physician, human rights activist, interracial and inter-faith community organiser, and philanthropist."According to a report by the Karachi-based outlet, Geo News, he was born and raised in a remote village, Kharian, in Pakistan's Punjab province's Gurjat diistrict, in a lower-middle-class family.After completing his medical degree at Sindh Medical College in Karachi, he moved to the US in the late 1990s, completed his residency at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, and pursued a pulmonary fellowship at Harlem Hospital (affiliated with Columbia University). He has practised as a pulmonologist and internal-medicine doctor in California since then.Prior to joining the USCIRF, he was active in Democrat Party politics. According to Geo News, he served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from 2008 to 2016, ran unsuccessfully for California Insurance Commissioner and later for Congress in California's 40th District in 2022.He was appointed to the USCRIF in 2024, later became its Vice Chairperson, and was unanimously elected to the top post, the Chairperson, in July this year.USCRIF CHIEF MAINTAINS CLOSE TIES WITH PAKISTANI POLITICIANS, LOBBIED FOR US HEARING ON KASHMIRAccording to the Geo News report, USCRIF chief Asif Mahmood has maintained cordial relations with who's who of all major political parties in Pakistan, including the PTI, PPP, PML-N and the PML-Q.The report added that Mahmood is a frequent visitor to Pakistan, and has broken bread with prominent political figures including incumbent PM Shebaz Sharif, currently jailed PTI founder Imran Khan, PTI president Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, PPP leader Faryal Talpur, and former Sindh governor, Kamran Tessori.He has made the headlines for recommending sanctions against India, its external intelligence agency and the RSS.He also played a prominent role in lobbying for a US Congressional Hearing in 2019 examining alleged human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir following India's abrogation of Article 370 that year, reported Geo News.The hearing focused on allegations of human-rights violations, restrictions on communications and movement, detentions of political leaders, and the humanitarian situation in Kashmir following the abrogation.Mahmood himself testified in the hearing, where he had stated that "Kashmiris are not alone, and we will stand with them till each and every one of them get their basic human rights secured", reported Geo News.Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently released a press statement welcoming the move, saying it highlighted alleged violations and the right to self-determination of Kashmiris.Seven years later, Islamabad is in the midst of enacting a vicious crackdown on protestors demanding autonomy in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir that has resulted in the killing of over 80 civilians.The latest sanctions call against the RSS is therefore not an isolated intervention. It comes amid USCIRF's sustained criticism of India. Meanwhile, its chaiperson, Asif Mahmood, has maintained political ties with Pakistan and previously advocated for a US congressional hearing on Kashmir. So, you know where the latest call to sanction the RSS is coming from.- EndsPublished By: Shounak SanyalPublished On: Aug 20, 2026 15:10 IST