[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 69 (Thursday, May 13, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H3167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     PAKISTANI SUPPORT FOR MILITANTS IN KASHMIR CONTINUES TO CAUSE 
                              INSTABILITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, once again the annual State Department 
report on international terrorism has acknowledged official Pakistani 
support for militants operating in India's state of Jammu and Kashmir. 
Yet once again the State Department has refused to designate Pakistan's 
government as a sponsor of international terrorism.
  The report, ``Patterns of Global Terrorism 1998,'' which was released 
2 weeks ago, stated, and I quote, ``As in previous years, there were 
continuing credible reports of official Pakistani support for Kashmiri 
militant groups that engage in terrorism.''
  Still quoting from this report, ``Pakistani officials stated publicly 
that while the government of Pakistan 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. Kashmiri militant groups continued to operate in 
Pakistan, however, raising funds and recruiting new cadre. These 
activities create a fertile ground for the operations of militant and 
terrorist groups in Pakistan, including the HUA (Harkat-ul-Ansar).''
  Madam Speaker, I should point out that the HUA is the terrorist 
organization 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. One of the other hostages, a 
Norwegian, was brutally murdered; and the fate of the remaining 
hostages, including an American, Donald Hutchings of Spokane, 
Washington, is still unknown, despite what the State Department has 
said is ``ongoing cooperative efforts between U.S. and Indian law 
enforcement.''
  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 recognizes, at a 
minimum, that Pakistan is a base for various militant groups, and that 
there are credible reports of official Pakistani support. Pakistan 
admits to diplomatic, political, and moral support for the militants. 
And we have to wonder, Madam Speaker, 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.
  Madam Speaker, the issue of Kashmir frequently gets mentioned in the 
geopolitical calculations over the larger India-Pakistan conflict. 
There has been an ongoing Pakistani effort to internationalize this 
issue by bringing the United States or other world powers into the 
negotiations. The one aspect of this tragedy that frequently is 
overlooked is the plight of the Hindu community of this region, the 
Kashmiri Pandits. The Kashmiri Pandits have suffered doubly, from the 
atrocities committed by the militants and the indifference of the world 
community.
  I have urged our government, India's government, and various U.N. 
bodies to accord more attention to the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits, 
and I will continue these efforts until this tragic situation starts to 
receive the attention it deserves.
  Last month, I had the opportunity to raise some of these issues in a 
meeting with Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah of Jammu and Kashmir, who 
was in Washington on a working visit. I have to say that Dr. Abdullah 
had some important ideas on how the U.S. can help promote investment 
and international lending to rebuild the economy of Jammu and Kashmir. 
He also mentioned the importance of lifting the U.S. unilateral 
sanctions on India.
  Chief Minister Abdullah appealed to both the administration and to 
Congress to do all in our power to get Pakistan to end its proxy war 
against India, which it wages by means of its support for the 
insurgency in Kashmir.
  Sadly, Madam Speaker, the same May 7, 1999, edition of the newspaper 
``India Abroad'' that included coverage of the ``Patterns of Global 
Terrorism'' and the visit of Chief Minister Abdullah also had this 
headline, ``Terrorists Gun Down Eight of a Family.'' The article said 
that in the northwest Kashmir district of Kupwara, that terrorists 
surrounded the home of Muhammad Maqbool Ganai, a middle-aged resident 
of the village of Krishipora, and fired indiscriminately at the 
occupants, killing five men and three women. Apparently, this gentleman 
was helping security forces in their campaign against the terrorists.
  Killing people who cooperate with the police is a tactic that has 
become widespread recently. The terrorists have also been targeting 
former militants who have surrendered and their families. In the past 
few months, these attacks have claimed more than 100 lives. According 
to a police official quoted in the ``India Abroad,'' ``The state police 
is receiving tremendous support from the locals, and that has made the 
militants nervous.''
  Madam Speaker, there are indications that leading, moderate Pakistani 
officials have convinced the State Department not to designate Pakistan 
a sponsor of international terrorism for fear it 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?

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