ISLAMABAD: Influential US Senator Lindsey Graham met with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on Monday to discuss bilateral ties and regional issues, including peace efforts in Afghanistan.
“Prime Minister said that broad-based and enduring partnership between Pakistan and the US was important for peace, prosperity, and development in the region,” the premier’s office said in a statement.
Senator Graham chairs the US Senate’s Judiciary Committee and is a senior member of the Armed Services, Appropriations and Budget Committees of the Senate.
Khan urged Graham to continue to play his role in transforming Pakistan-US relations by intensifying bilateral economic cooperation.
This is Graham’s second visit to Pakistan in 2019.
He thanked the premier for consistent support in the Afghan peace process and reiterated his desire for a broader bilateral relationship with a particular focus on economic cooperation, enhanced market access, and increased investments.
“He appreciated Pakistan’s achievements in mainstreaming the tribal areas through development work. He also commended Pakistan on border fencing initiative,” the statement read.
PM Khan said “Pakistan would continue to play its facilitating role in the Afghan peace and reconciliation process,” the statement read.
In the meeting, Khan also apprised the senator of “continuing atrocities” in Indian-administered Kashmir, as well as the Indian government’s “discriminatory policies against minorities,” as he called for the US “to prevent further deterioration of peace and stability in the region.”
Graham also met with Pakistan Army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa and, according to the army’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), discussed “regional security, including Afghan Reconciliation Process,” ISPR said in a statement on Twitter, adding that the senator also “acknowledged Pakistan’s efforts toward regional peace and stability.”
Analyst and political commentator Zahid Hussain told Arab News that “Lindsay Graham is very close to President Trump and has played an important role in improving relations between Pakistan and the US.”
According to Hussain, Graham’s “visit is significant as Washington and Taliban are back to the negotiating table,” and “Pakistan’s role will be very important in any peace agreement.”
Pakistan’s former foreign secretary, Salman Bashir, said the senator is a friend of Pakistan and is in US President Donald Trump’s close circle, who has been advocating deeper cooperative ties with Pakistan and is involved in “finding a political solution to issues related to Afghanistan.”
“His conversations with Pakistani leadership are particularly important for renewing bilateral relations and stabilizing regional peace,” Bashir said
Senator Graham in Pakistan to discuss broader economic ties, regional peace
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Senator Graham in Pakistan to discuss broader economic ties, regional peace
- Senator Lindsey Graham acknowledges Pakistan’s efforts toward regional stability
- Graham is considered a friend of Pakistan, wants more economic cooperation
Two Pakistani men indicted in $10 million Medicare fraud scheme in Chicago
- Prosecutors say defendants billed Medicare and private insurers for nonexistent services
- Authorities say millions of dollars in proceeds were laundered and transferred to Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Two Pakistani nationals have been indicted in Chicago for allegedly participating in a $10 million health care fraud scheme that targeted Medicare and private insurers, the US Justice Department said on Thursday.
A federal grand jury charged Burhan Mirza, 31, who resided in Pakistan, and Kashif Iqbal, 48, who lived in Texas, with submitting fraudulent claims for medical services and equipment that were never provided, according to an indictment filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Medicare is the US federal health insurance program primarily serving Americans aged 65 and older, as well as certain younger people with disabilities.
“Rooting out fraud is a priority for this Justice Department, and these defendants allegedly billed millions of dollars from Medicare and laundered the proceeds to Pakistan,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
“These alleged criminals stole from a program designed to provide health care benefits to American seniors and the disabled, not line the pockets of foreign fraudsters,” he added. “We will not tolerate these schemes that divert taxpayer dollars to criminals.”
Prosecutors said that in 2023 and 2024, the defendants and their alleged co-conspirators used nominee-owned laboratories and durable medical equipment providers to bill Medicare and private health benefit programs for nonexistent services.
According to the indictment, Mirza obtained identifying information of individuals, providers and insurers without their knowledge and used it to support fraudulent claims submitted on behalf of shell companies. Iqbal was allegedly linked to several durable medical equipment providers that filed false claims and is accused of laundering proceeds and coordinating transfers of funds to Pakistan.
Mirza faces 12 counts of health care fraud and five counts of money laundering. Iqbal is charged with 12 counts of health care fraud, six counts of money laundering and one count of making a false statement to US law enforcement. Arraignments have not yet been scheduled.
Three additional defendants, including an Indian, previously charged in the investigation, have pleaded guilty to federal health care fraud charges and are awaiting sentencing.
An indictment contains allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
