[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 12 (Tuesday, February 12, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H247-H249]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMENDING PRESIDENT PERVEZ MUSHARRAF OF PAKISTAN FOR HIS LEADERSHIP 
         AND FRIENDSHIP AND WELCOMING HIM TO THE UNITED STATES

  Mr. HYDE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 324) commending President Pervez 
Musharraf of Pakistan for his leadership and friendship and welcoming 
him to the United States.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 324

       Whereas President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan has shown 
     courageous leadership in cooperating with the United States 
     in the fight against terrorism;
       Whereas President Musharraf has shown great fortitude in 
     confronting extremists and outlawing terrorism in Pakistan;
       Whereas the efforts of President Musharraf in fighting 
     terrorism are both in the national interest of Pakistan and 
     of great importance to Pakistani-American relations;
       Whereas the war against terrorism underscores the 
     importance of strengthening the historic bilateral 
     relationship between the United States and Pakistan;
       Whereas President Musharraf has worked to improve the 
     political representation of minorities in Pakistan; and
       Whereas the Pakistani-American community in the United 
     States makes important contributions to the United States and 
     plays a vital role in developing a closer relationship 
     between the peoples of the United States and Pakistan: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That Congress commends President Pervez 
     Musharraf of Pakistan for his leadership and friendship and 
     welcomes him to the United States.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde).
  Mr. HYDE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I am pleased to call up the resolution to welcome President Musharraf 
on his most important visit to Washington. I am a cosponsor of this 
resolution that was introduced today by the distinguished gentleman 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), a member of the Committee on 
International Relations.
  Pakistan has been in the forefront of the war on terrorism, and their 
efforts to assist the United States have been essential to the great 
successes to date. The importance of the growing relationship between 
our two countries is the prevention of further terrorist attacks, and 
hopefully it will contribute to economic development and stability 
within Pakistan.
  President Musharraf has taken many steps to arrest al Qaeda members 
and has been working diligently on the release of kidnapped journalist 
Daniel Pearl. He has undertaken other efforts to curtail the 
detrimental activities of extremist Islamic groups and has shown 
particular leadership in trying to take his country in a new direction.
  Through this resolution we acknowledge President Musharraf's sincere 
efforts to improve the security in the region and give hope for a 
bright future for his country and its deserving people.
  I urge the support of my colleagues as we welcome the President of 
Pakistan to our country.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I might 
consume.
  I rise in strong support of this resolution.
  I would first like to commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Pitts) for introducing this important resolution, and I want to thank 
my friend the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the chairman of the 
Committee on International Relations, for allowing it to move so 
expeditiously to the floor of the House.
  Madam Speaker, 5 months after September 11, we now fully understand 
the long-term impact of that fateful day. The patterns of international 
power have been scrambled, and the United States has reexamined its 
bilateral relationship with almost every nation on the planet.
  Today, all the great powers are united against the forces of 
barbarism. Not since the end of the Second World War have all the 
nations of the civilized world, including China, Russia, Japan, India, 
Pakistan and the nations of Europe, joined in common cause against a 
common enemy.
  For some nations in this historic alliance, there was never a doubt 
that they would be with us in this struggle. For other nations, it was 
not to be an easy decision. The leaders were buffeted by competing 
pressures, and the course of least resistance would have been to duck 
and cover.
  Madam Speaker, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf made a strong and 
courageous decision to stand with the United States in this battle 
against terrorism. As a result, Pakistan has become an important ally 
in this epic struggle.
  While all the nations in the global alliance have made some 
contributions to the battle against terrorism, Pakistan, by virtue of 
geography and history, has had to shoulder a uniquely heavy burden. It 
is true that Pakistan had a hand in creating the Taliban, and we cannot 
forget this, but it is also true that Pakistan is playing a critical 
role in ensuring that Afghanistan and Pakistan are no longer used as a 
base for international terrorism.
  In his historic speech on January 12, President Musharraf made an 
eloquent and compelling call for an end to the extremism and terrorism 
that has plagued Pakistan for the past decade. As we laud him for 
making the right choice, we must acknowledge that it will not be an 
easy commitment for him to keep.
  Indeed, the kidnapping of Daniel Pearl, an American journalist 
working in Pakistan, is only the latest manifestation of the life-and-
death struggle that is being waged for the future of Pakistan. It is a 
battle against the anarchist forces of Islamic extremism and violence 
which seek to capitalize on the despair of the poor. It is a battle 
that Musharraf must win if he is to restore hope to the people of 
Pakistan and secure a future for the children of Pakistan.
  Madam Speaker, it is vital that the United States demonstrate to the 
people and Government of Pakistan our commitment to help them secure 
that future as long as Pakistan continues its commitment to eradicate 
international terrorism from within its borders.
  Finally, I want to reiterate to the people of Pakistan our continued 
support for a return to democracy in Pakistan. President Musharraf has 
given

[[Page H248]]

his word that he is committed to democracy, and we in the Congress 
intend to hold him to his word.
  I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 324.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HYDE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on the concurrent resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HYDE. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the 
distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), who is the 
author of this excellent resolution.
  Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak in favor of this 
resolution welcoming President Musharraf in his visit to the United 
States this week. He has shown very bold leadership in cooperating with 
the United States in the war against terrorism. He has made some very 
difficult decisions, which were politically risky for him to do. Had he 
chosen the politically easy path, the great successes of the past 
months would not have been possible.
  I think history will describe him as a courageous leader. Despite 
great risk to himself, to his government, he stood up for what was 
right and against what was wrong. He has cracked down on the 
extremists, the terrorists in his country. He has publicly spoken out 
and cracked down on the leaders guilty of hate speech. He shut down 
some of the madrassas which were teaching children to hate. He has 
acted to reform the education those young people receive.
  He has put his military into tribal areas along the western border 
where military forces have never been in their history, as under the 
British arrangement tribal law supersedes national law. He had to make 
special negotiations and arrangements to put his military along the 
western border to interdict the terrorists, the al Qaeda network, as 
they sought to flee Afghanistan, and he has turned those al Qaeda 
terrorists over to the United States. In my mind these actions are the 
definition of courage.
  It is no secret that Pakistan is an important ally of the United 
States. It has been for years. Yet Pakistan faces many challenges. 
President Musharraf has made good-faith efforts to weed out extremism, 
restore democracy and the rule of law, to ensure stability in a region 
that is torn by conflict.
  In addition, President Musharraf has led historic change in his 
country by abolishing the separate electorates that disenfranchised 
minority ethnic and religious groups and boldly mandating a joint 
electoral system.
  The joint electorate will help ensure that elected officials must 
respond to the needs of all people in Pakistan instead of ignoring the 
important issues, particularly fundamental human rights issues, facing 
ethnic and religious minorities.
  I applaud President Musharraf for bringing one of the biggest steps 
forward for human rights in Pakistan, and I encourage President 
Musharraf to continue in this direction bringing further reform to 
eliminate discriminatory laws and procedures, such as the blasphemy 
law, and to protect and uphold the fundamental human rights of all 
people in Pakistan.
  I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lantos) for cosponsoring this resolution, and I urge my 
colleagues to join me in recognizing the courage, the leadership, the 
progress of President Musharraf of Pakistan as he visits the United 
States by voting for this resolution.
  Mr. HYDE. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the 
learned gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton).
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Hyde) very much for the time. I want to thank the 
gentleman who just spoke for introducing this legislation.
  I think everything that has been said about Musharraf is accurate and 
well deserved, but I would like to just digress for a moment and point 
out that Pakistan has been an ally and friend of the United States as 
far back as I can remember.
  During the Cold War, when other countries in the region were 
supporting the Soviet Union, at a time when the United States was 
concerned about its security and an attack from the Soviet Union, 
Pakistan was always there. When we had the war in Afghanistan the first 
time, when the Soviet Union invaded, Pakistan was there. They served as 
a conduit for American supplies going in to stop the Soviet advance.
  When we went to Somalia, and there is a movie that is called Black 
Hawk Down that talks about the travails we experienced in Somalia, 
Pakistan sent troops, and they were there.

                              {time}  1500

  And now, President Musharraf has taken up the mantle of leadership in 
Pakistan, and he is likewise a great supporter of the United States and 
the things we jointly believe in. He has arrested and detained over 
2,000 militant leaders and extremists in working with us to stop the 
terrorist threat around the world. He has banned groups that support 
terrorism, frozen their bank assets and their accounts, clamped down on 
their fund-raising and closed their offices. In short, he is a friend 
and ally of the United States even though he has put himself and his 
administration at risk by doing so.
  So, along with my colleagues, I want to welcome President Musharraf 
to the United States; and I want to say a very strong thank you to him 
and to the people of Pakistan and the Government of Pakistan, because 
every time America asks them, unlike some of the other people in that 
area, they are always there to march beside us. So, President 
Musharraf, thank you very much for all you do for us and for the free 
world.
  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the 
distinguished gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking Member and 
the chairman for bringing this resolution before the House.
  The Pakistani word for ``thank you'' is shukrva. So we express 
shukrva to all our Pakistani friends in this country and around the 
world, and especially to President Musharraf. He has made dramatic 
changes that most of us thought were impossible. It has made a huge 
difference in our efforts to succeed in the war against terrorism, and 
hopefully it is going to be the catalyst that allows us to solve many 
problems, including that of Kashmir and other areas around the world.
  So again I suggest we say shukrva to our Pakistani friends.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join with my colleagues to 
welcome General Musharraf to the United States. The friendship 
exhibited by the General's government has been an important component 
of the war on terrorism. Moreover, the courage that General Musharraf 
has shown in taking a stance against Pakistan's traditional ally, the 
Taliban, has been especially welcome.
  While we welcome General Musharraf to Washington and congratulate him 
on his commitment to participating in our war on terrorism, we must 
also ask our friends in Pakistan some hard questions. For instance, we 
must ask Pakistan to show the world that it does not support cross-
border terrorism into India. Pakistan must clamp down on the dozens of 
fighters that cross daily into Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan Occupied 
Kashmir (POK). If, as the General claimed last week, the fighting in 
Jammu and Kashmir is indigenous to India, will he order that his 
borders are tightly sealed against the radical Islamic militants who 
are based on Pakistani soil and wage war in India?
  The General's government would gain tremendously in the international 
community if it also divulges to the world the status of the ``Twenty 
Most Wanted''--the list of international terrorist leaders that are 
accused of being sheltered in Pakistan. There can be no doubt that 
terrorism is alive in Pakistan--we have only to look to the case of the 
journalist, Daniel Pearl, to show us the Pakistan has not been able 
fact clamped down on terrorism. Without a sincere, public and tangible 
series of steps on the part of the General and his government, 
Pakistan's commitment to fighting terrorism is questionable.
  We must also ask the General when he intends to move Pakistan towards 
democracy. General Musharraf has ignored or had changed Supreme Court 
orders regarding local elections, and other distinct steps towards a 
return to democracy. Pakistan has had a long history of democratic 
instability,

[[Page H249]]

and I do not believe that the current global upheaval can justify delay 
in the return of democracy to Pakistan. We all hold the ideals of 
democracy and personal freedoms as sacrosanct, and we should not allow 
our friends in Pakistan to lapse in their progress towards democracy.
  I truly extend my gratitude and hand of friendship towards General 
Musharraf during his visit. But I also must extend my concern that he 
and those of his ruling stratocracy are not committed to the same goals 
of peace, stability and democracy that we are. I ask the General to 
dispel my hesitations and declare loudly that he is truly moving 
Pakistan towards democracy and that he is staunchly against all 
international terrorism. Until he stops bizarre diversions like blaming 
India for the kidnapping of Daniel Pearl and gets serious, it is going 
to be hard for us to take Pakistan and its interests as anything but 
dubious.

               [From the Washington Post, Feb. 12, 2002]

                      Mr. Musharraf in Washington

       Gen. Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan arrives in Washington 
     today for what likely will be, at least in part, a 
     celebration of his readiness to join the U.S.-led campaign 
     against terrorism. Any political boost he reaps from his 
     scheduled White House meeting with President Bush will be 
     largely justified; Mr. Musharraf's cooperation has been 
     instrumental to the military campaign in Afghanistan, and his 
     strong public initiative to arrest and reverse the mounting 
     influence of Islamic extremists in Pakistan may prove even 
     more important over time. But the general's visit needs to be 
     more than a love fest. For all he has done in the past five 
     months to advance the counterterrorist cause, the Pakistani 
     leader has much more to do; and the Bush administration 
     should match the political and economic rewards it offers him 
     with concerted pressure to move ahead.
       The need to keep pressing Pakistan's ruler seems all the 
     more urgent because of the worrisome signs he offered in the 
     days before his visit. Mr. Musharraf promised in a landmark 
     speech last month to end Pakistan's support of terrorists who 
     have been crossing its border to carry out attacks in India, 
     including an assault on the Indian parliament in December 
     that brought the two countries close to war. But last week he 
     delivered another address that restated Pakistan's 
     longstanding official position that the fighting in Indian-
     controlled Kashmir is the result of an ``indigenous'' rebel 
     movement that deserves Pakistan's support. At face value, 
     that stand might look legitimate; but the problem is that 
     Pakistani governments for years have used that formulation as 
     a cover to foment and supply the Kashmir insurrection.
       Mr. Musharraf has formally banned the Pakistani militant 
     groups dedicated to the Kashmir cause, including several with 
     close ties to the Afghan Taliban and al Qaeda as well as to 
     Pakistan's military intelligence agency. But some in Pakistan 
     suspect that despite hundreds of reported arrests, his 
     crackdown has not been uncompromising, that many of the 
     militants have been allowed to remain free in exchange for 
     lying low. Those fears could only be heightened by the 
     president's statements to The Washington Post last weekend 
     about the kidnapping of American journalist Daniel Pearl, 
     which Pakistani police believe was orchestrated by a well-
     known member of one of those extremist Muslim groups. Rather 
     than blame the Pakistani terrorists, or the evident failure 
     of his new campaign to stop them, Mr. Musharraf suggested 
     that India might somehow be behind the kidnapping--an 
     irresponsible and implausible suggestion that is not backed 
     by evidence.
       Mr. Musharraf's forthright public condemnations of Islamic 
     extremism, which began well before Sept. 11, leave little 
     doubt that he genuinely would like to fashion a moderate 
     Muslim state that would resemble Turkey rather than Taliban-
     ruled Afghanistan. But the general faces strong opposition to 
     his project, some of it within his own military; and where 
     the extremists' cause intersects with that of Kashmir, a 
     focus of Pakistani nationalism since the country's 
     foundation, Mr. Musharraf may feel tempted to pull his 
     punches. That is where the Bush administration should 
     intervene: It should make clear to the Pakistani leader that 
     he must decisively break with the terrorists on this front as 
     on others. Mr. Musharraf wants U.S. help in persuading India 
     to begin negotiations on Kashmir, and the Bush administration 
     should weigh whether it can help galvanize a peace process 
     without compromising its longstanding neutrality in that 
     conflict. But it must be clear, too, that continued 
     collaboration between Islamabad and Washington depends on Mr. 
     Musharraf's campaign Islamic extremism proving aggressive and 
     unambiguous in deeds, as well as in words.

  Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the resolution 
commending and welcoming General Musharraf of Pakistan. It is fitting 
that we should commend him for his support of the U.S.-led war on 
terrorism. Mr. Musharraf has accommodated our requests for bases, 
allowed us to use Pakistani airspace and otherwise provided us with 
logistic and intelligence-related support for our operations in 
Afghanistan. For that we are truly grateful.
  Rhetorically, Mr. Musharraf has aligned Pakistan with the nations 
opposed to terrorism, he abandoned his support of the Taliban in 
Afghanistan and recently met with Hamid Karzai the interim leader of 
Afghanistan offering his support for the new regime. In his speech of 
January 12, Mr. Musharraf pointed Pakistan away from Islamic extremism 
and back toward the goal of the founders of Pakistan: a secular, 
moderate, democratic, Muslim state. but there is a long way to go 
before Pakistan reaches that goal.
  For too long, terrorist groups that operate across the line of 
control in India have been given safe haven in Pakistan. The authors of 
the attack on the Indian parliament last December and on the state 
assembly building in Srinigar last October found aid and support in 
Pakistan. White a series of high-profile arrests and the announcement 
of a formal ban on militant groups operating in Pakistani are good 
beginnings, the jury is still out on whether infiltrations across the 
line of control have stopped.
  The steps taken to date are helpful but some recent backsliding is 
also in evidence. Last week, Mr. Musharraf claimed that the Indian 
intelligence services where behind the kidnaping of Wall Street Journal 
reporter Daniel Pearl. Such allegations are baseless and do not help 
either find Mr. Pearl or lower the level of tension between India and 
Pakistan.
  Beyond this, Mr. Musharraf has returned to the formulation that the 
terrorist groups in Pakistan are ``freedom fighters''. This is not 
acceptable. Pakistan can no longer say it is simply giving 
``political'' support to Kashmiri groups while secretly aiding their 
infiltration into India. The point of U.S. policy since September 11 
has been to oppose all terrorists, not just those who are conveniently 
or easily opposed. Mr. Musharraf must choose, he is either with the 
terrorists or he is with us, he cannot have both.
  On the subject of democracy, Mr. Musharraf has also said the right 
things. He has laid out a timetable for Pakistan's return to democracy 
and has held village level elections. Provincial and national assembly 
elections are scheduled. But we must not forget that Mr. Musharraf is 
the reason that Pakistan is again off the democratic path. For him to 
receive full credit for restoring democracy elections at all levels 
must be held, including elections for his office. All of this is 
admittedly difficult to accomplish against the backdrop of Islamic 
extremism, but it is Mr. Musharraf's own timetable and he should be 
urged to keep it.
  Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate for us to welcome Mr. Musharraf and 
thank him for his support, but we should also be mindful of how much 
further Pakistan has to go.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, we want to welcome President Musharraf to 
Washington. President Musharraf has been a brave ally in our war 
against terrorism. Our nation thanks him for his efforts to find Daniel 
Pearl the missing Wall Street Journal reporter. We also wish to thank 
him for closing his nation's borders to members of the Taliban and al 
Qaeda who are fleeing our armed forces.
  Mr. Speaker, nearly 90 constituents of mine died as a result of the 
September 11 terrorist attack. Accordingly, the visit this week of 
President Musharraf is significant for our 20th district of New York. 
The reason is that for many years a number of us in the Congress were 
concerned about the support that Pakistan gave to the Taliban and, of 
course, the Taliban sheltered the terrorists who attacked our Nation. 
President Musharraf is now reining in his countrymen who were 
responsible for many of the problems in Afghanistan and Kashmir and we 
commend him for the risks and hard decisions he makes.
  Our nation is providing Pakistan significant military economic 
assistance so that its citizens will feel secure and its society can 
thrive. We are doing this in the belief that if the people of Pakistan 
have hope then the extremists will be less able to recruit among the 
poor.
  We feel certain that with President Musharraf's guidance his 
government will achieve these ends. We know that his efforts to end 
terrorism will enable all Americans and especially New Yorkers to rest 
assured that all those innocent people who died in New York did not die 
in vain.
  In like manner, we urge Pres. Musharraf to help resolve the troubled 
issue of Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
324.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was 
agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.




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