Congressional Statements

Pallone asks Bush to reconsider budget proposal providing Pakistan $50 million in military assistance

Press Release
February 12, 2002

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) today reiterated to President Bush his strong opposition to lifting the ban on military assistance to Pakistan and the president's proposal in his Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 budget to provide Pakistan $50 million in military assistance. Pallone voiced his concern with the budget proposal in a letter sent to President Bush today. The president is scheduled to meet with Pakistani General Pervez Musharraf here in Washington tomorrow.

Last October, the U.S. Congress lifted all remaining sanctions against Pakistan. Pallone, cofounder of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, spoke out in opposition to the waiver.

"When you asked Congress last fall to lift the ban on military assistance to Pakistan, there were no plans to provide any such assistance to General Musharraf," Pallone wrote in his letter to Bush. "State Department representatives appeared before the House International Relations Committee at the time, and in response to my question, stated that no military aid to Pakistan was anticipated.

"In your FY 2003 budget proposal you have requested $50 million in military assistance to Pakistan," Pallone continued. "Frankly, I don't see that the situation has changed in Pakistan to justify such a turnaround. It is alarming that you are proposing military assistance to a country that verbally condemns terrorism on a global level, but that actively supports terrorist activities in its own backyard."

Pallone said he remains concerned that Musharraf has not done enough to crack down on terrorists operating within his country since the attack on the Indian Parliament in December. Although he has arrested nearly 1600 individuals, there is no assurance that these individuals are criminals and there is no notice of whether these individuals are terrorist fighters.

The New Jersey Congressman said there also has been no progress on Pakistan's part to quell the violence in Kashmir. Pallone pointed to troubling comments made by the Pakistani leader last week on Kashmir Solidarity Day inciting violence among these terrorist groups that Musharraf refers to as "freedom fighters". Pakistan has openly acknowledged that it provides logistical and moral support to these groups, however, the support extends beyond that to arms and weapons transfers.

"It is clear that Musharraf is in fact supporting terrorist activities under the guise of calling these groups 'freedom fighters,'" Pallone stated in his letter.

"Historically, U.S. military assistance to Pakistan has been used to arm cross-border terrorists in their attacks on Indian civilians in Kashmir and throughout the nation," Pallone continued. "There is continued evidence that terrorist groups operating in Pakistan are linked to Al-Qaeda and that their attacks on India are experiments for future attacks on the United States. I do not believe it is in our best interest to provide military assistance to Pakistan, despite their agreement to help in our war on terrorism. South Asia is a very volatile, unstable region and given the current military standoff between Pakistan and India, $50 million worth of U.S. weapons will only aid future conflict in that region."

Pallone said he agrees that Pakistan needs extensive economic aid to rebuild its economy, education system and social structure. The New Jersey Congressman hopes President Bush will discuss these concerns with General Musharraf during his meeting with the leader tomorrow.