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Stop infiltration, US congressmen tell Musharraf

Members of the House International Relations Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia have called on Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to immediately dismantle all terrorist training camps on territory in his control and halt infiltration into Jammu & Kashmir.

Members of the subcommittee led by its chairman, Congressman Benjamin Gilman (New York, Republican), and its vice-chairman, Congressman Gary Ackerman (New York, Democrat), said these actions were imperative if the tension between India and Pakistan was to be defused.

Gilman declared, "If Musharraf is serious about averting a war, he needs to match his words with deeds. He should agree to joint monitoring of the India-Pakistan border as suggested by Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee."

The lawmaker, who is also chairman emeritus of the full International Relations Committee, pointed out that the United States had provided more than $1 billion in aid to Pakistan since September 11. "While we appreciate all that Musharraf has done to help us since the September 11 attacks," he remarked, "we must remember that he and the Pakistani military were given the ultimatum soon after September 11 to stop nurturing and supporting the Taliban and other Islamic militants or else face the consequences.

"He made the right decision then, and we expect him to follow through with it now."

Gilman added: "People who kill innocent men, women and children for any cause are not freedom fighters. They are cold-blooded murderers who must be hunted down and brought to justice. Any support for them is totally and equally unacceptable."

Quoting President George W Bush, Jr, he said, "Any nation that harbours terrorists is a terrorist nation."

Ackerman, echoing these sentiments, said that if Pakistan wanted to prove that it was a bona fide member of the global campaign against international terrorism, "support for terrorists in Jammu & Kashmir must end -- completely and permanently."

Ackerman acknowledged that if it were not for Pakistan, the US would have "had a much more difficult time prosecuting the war in Afghanistan". But, he too noted that as quid pro quo the US had provided Islamabad with massive economic largesse.

Thus, he argued, "After all this, it's time to make clear to Musharraf that no further economic or military support will go to Pakistan if he continues to support militant organisations. No military assistance should go to Pakistan during the current crisis."

Ackerman also recalled that the Pakistani leader was "the architect of the Kargil incursion that brought the subcontinent to the brink of nuclear war in 1999. What makes anyone believe a cause for which he was ready to go to war three years ago is any less dear to him now?

"We have seen this strategy earlier. And we have found the next front on the war on terror, Mr Chairman, and it is in Kashmir."

Another lawmaker, Congressman Joseph R Pitts (Pennsylvania, Republican), while arguing strongly in India's favour, said he was going to establish a 'Kashmir forum' in Congress to educate his colleagues on the background to the conflict and the history of the troubled region.

He said the forum would give an opportunity to all parties, including Kashmiris, to put forward their views and hopefully work together to reach some sort of understanding that could lead to stability and peace in the region.

Pitts said he had been to Kashmir at least twice in recent years. "It is a region filled with humanitarian suffering from violence for many years. I have seen firsthand the increased toll on human dignity and life."

But Indian officials in Washington may not be particularly pleased with Pitts's plan as the forum may serve to further internationalise the Kashmir issue and bring it into sharper focus in Congress.

Terrorism Strikes in Jammu: The complete coverage

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