US asks Pak to honour its pledge for protecting human rights

WASHINGTON: US asking Pakistan to honor their pledge to protect the basic human rights of their citizens, including the freedom to travel said that Mukhtar Mai is welcome to travel to the United States at any time.

This was said by Sean McCormack, Spokesman of the US State Department at a daily press briefing in Washington.

Mccormack said Mukhtiar Mai met with U.S. Embassy officials in Islamabad on Wednesday. She is a courageous woman who is a victim of a horrendous crime. Ms. Mai is welcome to travel to the United States at any time. We were confronted with, what I can only say, was an outrageous situation where her attackers were ordered to be freed while she had restrictions on her travel placed on her.

"We conveyed our views about these restrictions to the senior levels of the Pakistani Government. The government of Pakistan informed us today that Ms. Mai has been removed from its Exit Control List, permitting her to travel out of Pakistan. We have also advised Pakistani officials that she was invited to the United States by a Pakistani organization based in the U.S", He said.