Ensure Pak aid not used against India: Cong to US

Stating that New Delhi has credible evidence that a portion of US aid to Pakistan is being used against India, the Congress party has asked the Obama Administration to have an effective monitoring mechanism of its civilian and military assistance to Islamabad.

"We are not against US aid to Pakistan at all," Congress spokesman Abhishek Sanghvi said in his keynote address at a function organised in Washington by the US India Business Council and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry to felicitate visiting parliamentarians.

"But we are all concerned that there are no monitoring mechanisms of that aid, even though there are conditions that the aid cannot be used for any other purpose than supplied for. Yet we have credible evidence to show that part of that aid are being used for anti-India activities," Singhvi said.

In principal, US aid can't be used for anti-India activity, said Singhvi who is leading an all-party delegation of members of parliament to attend fourth India-Yale Parliamentary Leadership Programme being organised annually by the Yale University in partnership with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Other important members of the delegation are Union Ministers of State Ajay Maken and Agatha Sangma; besides Anto Antony, Gaddam Vivekanand, Pradeep Majhi from the Congress; Jyoti Dhurve and Janardhana Swamy from the Bharatiya Janata Party; Harsimrat Kaur Badal (Shiromani Akali Dal); Bhartruhari Mahtab (Biju Janata Dal); Asaduddin Owaisi (All India Majlis-e Ittihad al-Muslimin); and Neeraj Shekhar  (Samajwadi Party).

Besides attending classes on leadership at the Yale University, the delegation also had interaction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation officials on counter-terrorism in New York, met Congressmen and officials of the Obama Administration including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Addressing a gathering of US corporate sector, Singhvi said India has legitimate concerns with regard to Pakistan.

"There are concerns and legitimate concerns of parliamentary groups like this, which is completely bipartisan and concerns of this group does not has the constraints of (Indian) Ambassador (to the US Meera) Shankar here or the MEA (Ministry of External Affairs). We are in that sense a relatively freer group," he said.

"So without treading on any foreign ministry diplomatic tone, I can candidly share with you that these are concerns of India's relations and it came out very clearly in our meetings here.

"Why is it that not sufficient amount is done to apprehend obvious unpleasant assets and highly dispensable assets like Hafeez Saeed and (Zikur Rehman) Lakhvi, who roam free in Pakistan about whom dossiers, which would fill up half a wall here, which have been supplied many months ago by India to Pakistan and also shared with the US," Singhvi asked.

"Now the fact that a legal system, laxidly prosecuted them leading to perhaps predetermined acquittal has no answer. There is a very strong concern and it has great resonance and that resonance has great emotive quality of ours, which would reach a crescendo as President (Barack) Obama's visit comes up," he said.

Raising the issues of proposed Chinese supply of nuclear power plants to Pakistan, Singhvi said this is in violation of the rules of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

"There is a legitimate concern that if you have a global order which has been regulated so strictly on what basis can obvious imminent transfer of nuclear technology in violation of that regime can be allowed to happen," he asked.