Do not listen to India on Pak: Pak Americans tell Obama admin

Pakistani Americans, in a move to counter Indo-American groups active in lobbying here, have floated a body, which has asked the Obama administration and US lawmakers not to listen to the demands of India.

Accusing Indian American groups of lobbying with Washington for putting pressure on Islamabad in the aftermath of the Mumbai attack, the Pakistani-American groups are telling the US that Islamabad has been a reliable ally in its war against terror.

Leaders of the newly formed Pakistan American National Alliance (PANA), at a press conference said Indian Americans were lobbying before the Congress and the Obama Administration asking them to exhort pressure on Pakistan for taking action against the terrorists involved in the Mumbai attack, and penalize Islamabad in case it fails to do so.

PANA, which includes six eminent Pakistani American organisations, announced its formation on the eve of some 150 Indian American leaders from various parts of the country converging in Washington to lobby before the Obama team and Congressmen to tell Pakistan to take action against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack.

"As previous experience shows some of the terrorist acts by non-state actors are in fact complex, well planned and sophisticated as witnessed during the tragic events of 9/11 and embassy bombings in Africa. The perpetrators of 9/11 were Saudi and Egyptian citizens, but the US Government never suspected nor blamed the Saudi of Egyptian governments," the group said in a statement.

"Therefore the presumption that since a citizen of a certain country performs a certain act, therefore its government should be held responsible is erroneous," it said and urged the Obama administration to influence India for a joint Indo-Pak investigation of the Mumbai terrorist attack.

The Pakistani-Americans also announced they would hold day-long lobbying activities at the Capitol on February 18, after the US Congress resumes.

Asking the White House and the US Congress to cooperate with the government in Islamabad and provide massive economic aid to the country, Pakistani Americans demanded that Indian parties like Bharatiya Janata Party, Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangha, Shiv Sena and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad be declared terrorist outfits.

It also demanded appointment of a special mediator to resolve the Kashmir issue and urged the new administration not to give US visa to the Gujarat chief minister, Narendra Modi.