By Laura Bonawits, Contributing Writer

It’s hard to get more topical than this.

Congressman Patrick Meehan (PA-7) will host a hearing this afternoon in Washington, D.C. about the growing threat the U.S. faces from extremists in Pakistan. While the meeting was scheduled prior to the killing of Osama bin Laden, Meehan, who serves as Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, said there are now even more questions to be addressed about Pakistan.

“In recent years, we have seen a number of terrorist plots against the United States planned in Pakistan, including the Times Square attack by Faisal Shahzad and the New York City subway plot by Najibullah Zazi,” Rep. Meehan said. “It is critical for Congress to better understand the myriad of counterterrorism and intelligence issues regarding Pakistan so that we can better secure our homeland.”

Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on Sunday.

The hearing will give subcommittee members insight into the capacity of terrorist groups and the threat they present to the U.S. Visiting experts include Dr. Frederick Kagan, resident scholar and director at American Enterprise Institute Critical Threats Project; Dr. Seth G. Jones, senior political scientist at RAND Corporation; and Dr. Stephen Tankel, visiting fellow from the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.