Congressional Statements

Pallone calls for designation of Pakistan as state sponsor of terrorism

Press Release
January 24, 2000

Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., D-NJ, today called on the U.S. State Department to designate Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Pallone will introduce legislation later this week to express the Sense of Congress that the State Department should take this step.

Pallone outlined his concerns in a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright. The text of Pallone's letter to Albright is printed below.

Dear Madame Secretary:

I am writing to express my serious concerns about the connection between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and a recurring pattern of international terrorism. This pattern has reached a point of seriousness where I believe that the United States must now take the step of designating Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism. To that end, I will be introducing a resolution in Congress calling for this action to be taken.

The recently concluded Indian Airlines hijacking crisis is only the latest in a long series of incidents that point to Pakistan's role in promoting violence and instability in the South Asia region. The hijackers of the Indian Airlines plane were part of the Harakat-ul-Mujahudeen, which the State Department has described the as an "Islamic militant group based in Pakistan." Among the hijackers' demands were the release of the organization's General Secretary, Masood Azhar, who hails from Pakistan, and other jailed Pakistani militants.

This organization is linked to the militant movement waging a campaign of terror and violence against both military and civilian targets in an effort to end Indian governance of Kashmir. This organization has been reported to be behind the kidnapping of four Western tourists in Kashmir; two of them have been found murdered, while two others, including an American, still remain missing. Pakistan has acknowledged its "political and moral" support for the separatist movement, but credible reports from Indian and other sources indicates that Pakistan's support goes far deeper. Last year, Pakistan increased tensions in the region by launching a military campaign against Indian positions across the Line of Control in Kashmir, which the U.S. Government forcefully condemned.

During the recent hijacking incident, India's top security adviser, Brajesh Mishra, reported that Indian intelligence intercepted radio conversations between militant groups in Kashmir that confirmed Pakistan had links to the hijackers. Indian officials have cited reports indicating that, after the resolution of the crisis, the hijackers left Afghanistan for Pakistan, despite the denials of the leaders of Pakistan's military dictatorship. I urge the State Department to investigate these allegations.

This is hardly the first time that the issue of designating Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism has been raised. For much of the past decade, a series of reliable reports from Western media sources have cited Pakistan as a base and training ground for terrorist groups, and the Pakistani Government's demonstrated reluctance to halt the use of its soil for terrorist organizations. Indeed, several reports have implicated Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) directly in terrorist activities, as well as the international drug trade. Americans and other Westerners have been the victims of attacks in Pakistan. The perpetrators of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in New York and at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia, both surfaced in Pakistan.

The history of the past few years points to the conclusion that Pakistan is deeply involved in the ongoing campaign of terror afflicting Kashmir, and in terrorist acts elsewhere. The military regime that seized power in a coup Islamabad last year has only acted to increase that widespread perception.

Madame Secretary, I firmly believe that, besides the terrorist organizations themselves, those countries that harbor terrorist organizations or provide them with technical, financial, political or other support should also be held accountable. Indeed, in his statement following the 1998 U.S. missile attacks against terrorist bases in Afghanistan (an action that Pakistan publicly condemned), President Clinton stressed that U.S. military actions were part of a longer-term battle to combat the forces of international terrorism B forces which have already declared war against not only the U.S. and its interests, but against the very fabric of international stability. In this spirit, I believe it is consistent to put Pakistan on notice that the U.S. will no longer tolerate that country's involvement with terrorist organizations.

I also believe that the global struggle against terrorism may have the longer-term effect of more closely uniting India and the U.S., since both of our countries have been victims of the international terrorist movement with which Pakistan has been associated. In that regard, I respectfully urge the State Department to explore ways to step up U.S.-India cooperation in the struggle against terrorism.

I hope that the State Department will, at a minimum, demand from Pakistan greater accountability and cooperation on these matters as a basis for improving U.S.-Pakistani relations.

Finally, I would greatly appreciate it if you could provide an explanation or clarification for what the threshold is for determining whether a nation's frequent associations with terrorist activities, movements and individuals must finally qualify that nation for designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

I look forward to a response to the questions raised in this letter.

Thanking you for your attention to this matter, I remain,

Sincerely,
FRANK PALLONE, JR.