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Don't overlook Pandits' plight, says Pallone

Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone has said evidence shows that Pakistan has been playing a direct role in arming and training the militants who have converted the Kashmir Valley from an earthly paradise into a living hell.

In a statement in the House of Representatives, he recalled how on the eve of Prime Minister A B Vajpayee's visit to Lahore, ''Islamic militants -- whom Indians generally believe are backed by Pakistan -- massacred 20 Hindu civilians in three places in Jammu, part of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, apparently in an attempt to derail the peace efforts.''

Pallone said, ''The issue of Kashmir frequently gets mentioned in the geopolitical calculations over the larger India-Pakistan conflict. There is overwhelming evidence of Pakistani covert support for the continued terror campaign in Jammu and Kashmir. There has, at the same time, been an overt Pakistani effort to internationalise this issue by bringing the United States, or other world powers and international organisations, into the negotiations.

''The one aspect of this tragedy that frequently is overlooked is the plight of the Hindu community of this region, the Kashmiri Pandits,'' Pallone added.

He said he had urged Secretary of State Madeleine Albright last year to raise the issue whenever Kashmir is discussed by the United States and India.

''I have also asked the Indian government to bring up the Pandit's issue in any bilateral discussion between India and Pakistan,'' he added.

''The United Nations Human Rights Commission also needs to address the Kashmiri Pandit issue, including it in its periodic reports on Kashmir, as well as through the commission's subcommittee on minorities,'' he said, adding, ''I will also continue urging action by Unicef to provide educational grants to benefit the Kashmiri Pandit children, and the World Health Organisation support to improve health and sanitation.''

UNI

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