WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama has vetoed a bill that would have allowed the families of 9/11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia.

The move sets Obama up for a possible first veto override by Congress. Both chambers had passed the bill by voice vote. The House sent Obama the bill just before the 15th anniversary of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania on Sept 11, 2001.

Obama argues the bill would “upset long-standing international principles regarding sovereign immunity”. The bill would have given 9/11 families the right to sue in US court elements of the Saudi government that they suspect to have played a role in the attacks.

Published in Dawn September 24th, 2016