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US Congressmen want action against Pak

Some 14 US Congressmen, led by Republican leader Benjamin Gilman, have introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives, urging the Bill Clinton administration to draw up a definite policy to oppose the Pakistani government's support for armed incursion in Jammu and Kashmir.

Gilman, who is chairman of the House International Relations Committee, while moving the document yesterday, said Pakistan had long supported terrorism in India, ''however, this latest incident is far beyond the usual murder of innocent civilians on train or at a wedding party.''

''The Pakistani army, intelligence services and government have moved thousands of men and material up to the Pakistani side of the Line of Control and sent hundreds of army regulars across the line. The Pakistan army is laying down artillery fire in support of the invaders,'' he added.

The three-page resolution says that the actions by Pakistan are contrary to the Lahore Declaration.

It says the Indian armed forces have been forced into action to defend the territory on the Indian side of the LoC and push the terrorists and Pakistani military forces out. ''Pakistani armed forces, reportedly, are well involved in these incursions,'' it adds.

The resolution says the forces include well-trained and heavily armed Afghans and Pakistanis associated with Afghanistan-based Osama Bin Laden, the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, and the Pakistan government. Pakistan's strategy is to support the armed incursion into Kashmir and renegotiate the LoC, it says.

Pakistani-backed armed forces, and reportedly Pakistani regulars, have crossed from Pakistan into Jammu and Kashmir and occupied Indian military positions that were temporarily abandoned for the winter season. This incursion has the financial and military support of Pakistan, it adds.

In addition to giving ''political, moral and material'' support, Congressman Gilman, in his speech, said the Pakistan government supported training camps for terrorists that operated around the world.

He said the Clinton administration's non-proliferation policy had helped bring about India's sense of insecurity by inadequately responding to China's violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. ''We must not forget that China sold and transferred nuclear weapons technology to Pakistan,'' he added.

''If India, or any other nation, is expected to refrain from building a nuclear deterrent, then the US and other nuclear powers must ensure that these non-nuclear nations are not bullied by their nuclear neighbours,'' he said adding, ''India's (nuclear) testing must be understood in terms of its verifiable, objective security concerns and how the world's nuclear powers have responded to these concerns.''

The Kargil Crisis

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