Briefing on Kashmir Held on Capitol Hill

June 10, 2009 (Washington DC) -- The International Kashmir Federation (IKF) and Hindu American Foundation (HAF) held a joint briefing yesterday on Capitol Hill on the decades long violence in Kashmir. With a capacity crowd in attendance, Congressional staffers, the U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom and media heard panelists from leading NGOs speak of the geo-political implications on Kashmir of the Taliban's gaining control in Pakistan as well as the religious cleansing of the minority Hindu population from India's state of Jammu and Kashmir (J & K) by Pakistan-sponsored jihadi terrorists.

 

"The results of a radical ideology that Pakistan first embraced and is now suffering from on a daily basis -- attacks by the Taliban on government personnel, hotels, shopping centers and civilians, and the shutting down of schools and strict imposition of Shariah law in the areas where it has gained control--are clear today," said Jeevan Zutshi, IKF's Chairman. "It's the same ideology that has fueled radical Muslims in militant training camps in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Islamist extremists in J & K for nearly six decades."  

 

Speakers representing the United States India Political Action Committee (USINPAC), the National Federation of Indian Associations (NFIA), United Hindu Front (UHF) and Kashmiri Pandit (Hindu) refugees now resettled in the U.S. testified on a range of issues including ongoing terror faced by Kashmiri Hindus still living in J & K and squalid living conditions in the refugee camps located in Northern India.  Also featured was a mini-documentary on Hindu refugee camps and ongoing violence in the region presented by Deepak Ganju of Shehjar magazine. Speakers proposed diplomatic and military solutions to the crisis, called for greater accountability in U.S. aid to Pakistan, and increased attention in India to the plight of its internally displaced Pandit population.  

 

"A cause for major concern is President Obama's recent promise made in Cairo last week for another $1.2 billion aid each year for the next several years to Pakistan -- this too after Congressional acknowledgment of the poor accounting and misappropriation of $12 billion already provided to Pakistan by the U.S.," said Ishani Chowdhury, HAF's Director of Public Policy.  "Our demand, as Hindu Americans and U.S. taxpayers, is that any U.S. aid mandate greater oversight and strict accountability so that U.S. taxpayer dollars are used by Pakistan in fighting the ongoing battles against the Taliban and improving the lives of Pakistanis, rather than continuing its six decade long cross-border, proxy war against India." 

 

Dr. Vijay Sazawal, a Kashmir policy analyst, stressed that it was Pakistan's ideological obsession with the region, specifically Kashmir, that has resulted in neglect in areas of development and education throughout the rest of Pakistan. He spoke about his trip to Kashmir in January 2009 where he held discussions with State officials. He was very critical of the State and Central government in India for not having done much for internally displaced Pandits who continue to leave the valley due to inadequate security, economic deprivation and cultural isolation. 
 
The HAF and IKF committed to further collaborative efforts in highlighting the human rights and terror implications over Kashmir, and will follow the briefing with senators and Congressmen to inform American policy makers in the region.   

The full HAF speech can be downloaded here.