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Declare Pak a terrorist state: Pallone

Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone has criticised the Bill Clinton administration for its refusal to designate the Pakistan government as a sponsor of international terrorism in the wake of its role in Jammu and Kashmir.

In a statement in the House of Representatives, Pallone said there are indications that leading Pakistani officials have convinced the state department not to designate Pakistan a sponsor of international terrorism. The US fears such a move would provoke anti-American sentiment and embolden the radicals.

''The question is, given the continuing pattern of Pakistani support for the militants in Kashmir, what has been accomplished by our refusal to state the obvious,'' he asked.

He referred to the department's annual report, 'Patterns of Global Terrorism-1998', which was released two weeks ago. It stated that, as in previous years, there were continuing credible reports of official Pakistani support for Kashmiri militant groups that engage in terrorism.

Pallone said the report had quoted Pakistani officials as saying that while their government provides diplomatic, political and moral support for 'freedom fighters' in Kashmir, it is firmly against terrorism, and provides no training or material support for Kashmiri militants.

Pallone maintained that Kashmiri militant groups, however, continue to operate in Pakistan, raising funds and recruiting new cadre. These groups include the Harkat Ul Ansar.

He said Harkat is the organisation that has been blamed for the 1995 kidnapping of five Western tourists in Kashmir, including two Americans. One of the American hostages managed to escape. Another, a Norwegian, was brutally murdered. The fate of the remaining hostages, including an American, Donald Hutchings, is still unknown.

''Even if we accept the argument that there has not been official Pakistani training or material support for the militants -- and there has been evidence to cast doubt on this assertion; but, if we accept that argument, still, it is clear that our state department recognises at a minimum that Pakistan is the base for various militant groups -- there are credible reports of official Pakistani support,'' he added.

''We have to wonder, how anyone can use the word moral to describe support for a movement that has caused the deaths of thousands of civilians and the dislocation of hundreds of thousands of people from their homes,'' he added.

He also drew attention to the plight of Kashmiri Pandits. They have suffered doubly -- from the atrocities committed by the militants, and the indifference of the world community, Pallone exclaimed.

UNI

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