First Pakistani-American to run presidential campaign for Bernie Sanders

In a first, US Senator Bernie Sanders has appointed Pakistani-American civil rights activist Faiz Shakir as his campaign manager.

The appointment makes Shakir the first Muslim and the first Pakistani-American to manage a US presidential campaign.

Shakir, who was born to Pakistani immigrant parents, was the national political director with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the iconic civil rights group that has led the challenge against US president Donald Trump on multiple fronts, especially immigration.

Before joining the ACLU, Shakir was a senior adviser to then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and also advised Nancy Pelosi, who is emerging as Trump’s most formidable opponent.

Shakir shot to prominence as an editor of ThinkProgress, the news arm associated with though editorially independent of the powerhouse Democratic think-tank Center for American Progress.

Senator Bernie Sanders announced Tuesday he is running for president, launching a second bid for the White House after a surprisingly strong run for the Democratic nomination in 2016.