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Put 'Pak in terrorist list'

C K Arora in Washington

Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans co-chairman Gary L Ackerman today warned that ''unless Pakistan immediately ceases its assistance to Islamic terrorists in Kargil/Drass area of Jammu and Kashmir and withdraws its forces from the region, the state department must add Pakistan to the annual list of state sponsors of terrorism''.

In a statement, Acerman, who is a member of the House International Relations Committee, said, ''It's a matter of great disappointment to me that, contrary to the letter and spirit of the Lahore Declaration, a large number of well-trained and heavily armed Afghan mercenaries and fundamentalist Mujahideen terrorists, allegedly with spiritual and other links to the Saudi fugitive Osama Bin Laden and Haraket Ul-Mujahideen, have entered the Indian side of the Line of Control from Pakistan.''

He said these terrorists had been aided and abetted by elements of the Pakistani security apparatus and were operating inside Jammu and Kashmir with Islamabad's moral and material assistance.

''Quite clearly, what we are witnessing in Kargil and some other areas of Jammu and Kashmir is nothing short of a well-planned armed aggression against India. This armed aggression of Indian territory must be undone immediately. The first thing Pakistan must do is to immediately put an end to this proxy war by pulling back its assistance, both covert and overt, to the Islamic terrorists now violating Indian territory,'' he added.

The New York law-maker added, ''I'm very concerned about the fighting and escalation of tension between the two nuclear-armed neighbours of south Asia. I can fully appreciate the firm steps taken by the Indian government to defend its territory against armed aggression.''

UNI

The Kargil Crisis

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