Congressional Statements

Pallone introduces resolution calling for Pakistan's designation as state sponsor of terrorism

Press Release
January 28, 2000

Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., D-NJ, has introduced a Resolution in the House of Representatives calling on the U.S. Secretary of State to designate Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism.

The legislation (House Resolution 406), introduced on Thursday, January 27, 2000, with Rep. Bill McCollum, R-FL, as a cosponsor, has been referred to the House Committee on International Relations.

Pallone also wrote to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, calling for Pakistan to be designated as a state sponsor of terrorism, citing the recent hijacking of an Indian Airlines jet as but the latest example in which individuals and organizations with connections to Pakistan have been involved in acts of international terrorism.

Pallone's action comes amid suggestions from the Clinton Administration that Pakistan could face such an action if the Pakistani Army continued to support Harkat ul-Mujahedeen, a radical group seeking to end Indian governance of Kashmir. Pallone has repeatedly condemned this movement and the ongoing campaign of terror and violence in Kashmir.

"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," Pallone said.

"For a long time, I have been expressing concern about the role of Pakistan in terms of international terrorist activities. In particular, we have seen Pakistani involvement in the ongoing terror campaign in Kashmir, but it doesn't end there."

Pallone's Congressional Resolution states that:

• the Secretary of State, pursuant to the Export Administration Act of should designate the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as a country, the government of which has repeatedly provided support for international terrorism; and
• in addition to terrorist organizations themselves, those countries that harbor terrorist organizations or provide them with technical, financial, political or other support should also be held accountable; and
  
• that, given the shared threat that the United States and other countries face from international terrorist organizations, the State Department is urged to explore ways to step up U.S. cooperation with those countries in the struggle against terrorism.

The various clauses of the Resolution note that reports from Western media sources have cited Pakistan as a base and training ground for terrorist groups, and that Pakistan's Government has demonstrated a reluctance to halt the use of its soil for terrorist organizations. It also cites reports that have implicated Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) directly in terrorist activities, as well as the international drug trade.

The Harkat-ul-Ansar, a terrorist organization based in Pakistan, was declared a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. Department of State in 1997. The hijackers of the Indian Airlines plane in December 1999 were identified as being part of the Harakat-ul-Mujahudeen, and among the hijackers' demands were the release of the organization's former General Secretary, Masood Azhar, who hails from Pakistan, and other jailed Pakistani militants. This organization has been 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, and to the kidnapping of four Western tourists in Kashmir, two of whom were murdered and two others, including an American, still remain missing.

The Resolution also states that, during the December 1999 hijacking incident, it was reported that Indian intelligence intercepted satellite telephone conversations between militant groups in Kashmir that confirmed Pakistan had links to the hijackers, and that it has been reported that, after the resolution of the crisis, the hijackers left Afghanistan for Pakistan.

The Resolution also notes that Pakistan is one of three countries to recognize the Taliban in Afghanistan, and that the Taliban, which has been declared a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. Department of State, has provided refuge and assistance to Osama Bin Laden. It notes that Pakistan has hindered U.S. and international efforts to apprehend Osama Bin Laden, whom the State Department has declared, with his associates, as a foreign terrorist organization.

The Resolution goes on to cite the fact that Pakistan was placed on the U.S. Department of State's "watch list" of suspected state sponsors of international terrorism in 1993, and cites numerous cases of terrorist attacks or attempted terrorism that have been linked to Pakistan, many of which have resulted in death or injury to Americans and other Westerners.