Expresses concern over KAC’s association with Rep. Dan Burton
July 20, 2011, Washington DC: The U.S. India Political Action Committee (USINPAC) is appalled by the involvement of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence(ISI) in the funding and activities of Kashmiri American Council (KAC) that claimed to have been working to raise awareness in U.S. about the struggle of the Kashmiri people for self-determination. The KAC had supported the election campaign of Dan Burton (R-IN), a constant critic of India who has also asked for greater U.S. role in resolving the Kashmir issue.
On Tuesday, the FBI charged Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director at KAC, and accused him “of a decades-long scheme with one purpose–to hide Pakistan’s involvement behind his efforts to influence the U.S. government’s position on Kashmir.”
USINPAC has previously called out Rep. Burton and supported his primary opponent Dr. John McGoff. Rep. Burton has been a major critic of India and has accused India of “being one of the world’s worst human rights abusers” and for having “a record of committing acts of terrorism.” He has made over 16 unsubstantiated accusations about India on the floor of Congress in the past two decades.
USINPAC Chairman Sanjay Puri stressed upon USINPAC’s continued support of the right candidates such as Dr. John McGoff. He also pointed to the Pakistani army and intelligence agencies obsession with Kashmir and said, “The use of KAC by the ISI shows how far these agencies could go to undermine a legitimate India-Pakistan peace process.” He further stated that KAC’s actions undermine the activities and efforts of other non-profit organizations working towards various noble causes.
In 2005, USINPAC organized support in Congress to successfully prevent Rep. Burton from becoming the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee. In 2003, USINPAC organized a campaign to successfully prevent Rep. Burton from becoming the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee that had jurisdiction over India.
About USINPAC: The U.S India Political Action Committee (USINPAC) is a bi-partisan non-profit organization and the voice of 2.7 million Indian-Americans. It works to impact policy on issues of concern to the Indian-American community in the US. We also provide bipartisan support to candidates for federal, state and local office who support the issues that are important to the Indian-American community. For more information visit us at http://www.usinpac.com.