PAKISTAN'S LINKS WITH FUNDAMENTALISM AND INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM ------------ HON. PETER DEUTSCH OF FLORIDA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Friday, October 7, 1994 Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I am shocked to see reports detailing the extensive involvement of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in supporting Islamic fundamentalist terror groups in Afghanistan and India. I have seen Peter Arnett's excellent documentary "Terror Nation? U.S. Creation?" shown on CNN last month. The film provides a graphic account of the links between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the fundamentalist regime of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. I was disturbed to note that some Afghan groups that have had close affiliation with Pakistani Intelligence are believed to have been involved in the New York World Trade Center bombings. Following an investigation, Peter Arnett reports about the New York bombing, "It happened at this apartment complex. Police at the well-patroled community say the Skeikh's Driver, Mahmud Aboubalima was Shalabi's most frequent visitor. Police consider Aboubalima their prime suspect. He is the second person from the Afghan Refuge Center implicated in a U.S. crime. But he has not been charged. Shalabi's family blames Sheikh Rahman for the killing, a charge a cleric denies. With Shalabi gone, Aboubalima takes control of the Afghan Refugee Center. Aboubalima, Sheikh Rahman and Hampton El were bound together not only by the Brooklyn-based Afghan Center, but also by the holy war headquarters in Peshawar, Pakistan, the bustling base of operations for the Afghan resistance. It is in Peshawar that the New York terror campaign takes shape. Peshawar was the headquarters of Sheikh Rahman's international network. Peshawar was also the headquarters of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's party, which trained four of the key New York suspects. Hekmatyar's links to the New York suspects came as no surprise to pro-Western afghan officials. They officially warned the U.S. government about Hekmatyar no fewer than four times. The last warning delivered just days before the Trade Center attack." Speaking to former CIA Director Robert Gates, about Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Peter Arnett reports, "The Pakistanis showered Gulbuddin Hekmatyar with U.S. provided weapons and sang his praises to the CIA. They had close ties with Hakmatyar going back to the mid-1970's. Hekmatyar's Islamic fervor played well with the fundamentalist powers of Pakistan." Mr. Speaker, I have now come across a report in the Washington Post of September 12th from Karachi, Pakistan, which states that: "Pakistan's army chief and head of its intelligence agency proposed a detailed `blueprint' for selling heroin to pay for the country's covert military operations in early 1991, according to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif." The report provides considerable detail on the degree to which Pakistan's military leaders have been involved in their pursuit of an Islamic nuclear bomb and export of fundamentalism into India. It says, "It has been rumored for years that Pakistan's military has been involved in the drug trade. Pakistan's army, and particularly its intelligence agency (the equivalent of the CIA) is immensely powerful and is known for pursuing its own agenda. Over the years, civilian political leaders have accused the military (which has run Pakistan for more than half of its 47 years of independence) of developing the country's nuclear technology and arming insurgents in India and other countries without civilian knowledge or approval and sometimes in direct violation of civilian orders. Historically, the army's chief of staff has been the most powerful person in the country." The significance of these reports at a time when India's investigative agencies are discovering growing evidence of Pakistani involvement in the heinous bombings in Bombay last March can not be under estimated. A prime suspect in the bombings has recently been arrested with documents including a passport, driving license and birth certificate provided to him by the same intelligence organization. The use of drug money by the intelligence services of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for bringing the destabalizing effects of fundamentalism into Afghanistan and India can not be condoned. The Administration should investigate these reports with full vigor and share its findings with the Members of the House. PAKISTAN'S INVOLVEMENT IN NARCO-TERRORISM (Mr. FINGERHUT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. FINGERHUT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring to the attention of my colleagues a report carried by the Washington Post of September 12, 1994, reminding us once again of the real and present danger posed by the nexus between narcotics and terrorism. The Karachi datelined report headlined "Heroin Plan by Top Pakistanis Alleged" quoting Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif saying that "drug deals were to pay for covert operations" brings to mind other reports not so long ago of Pakistani involvement in using the Bank of Credit and Commerce Internationale [BCCI] to launder drug money that was eventually believed to have been used in financing terrorist groups involved in the New York World Trade Center bombing. It is shocking that the report cites Pakistan's army chief and head of intelligence agency proposing to then Prime Minister Sharif "a detailed blueprint for selling heroin to pay for the country's covert military operations in early 1991". The role played by Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence Agency in exporting terror to Kashmir and Punjab in neighboring India was sufficiently well-documented for the previous administration to place the country on the watch list of states sponsoring terrorism. Its removal from that list is justified neither by its past track record nor by its present performance. The State Department's most recent report on Global Patterns of Terrorism talks of credible reports in 1993 of official Pakistani support to Kashmiri militants who undertook attacks of terrorism in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The administration cannot afford to ignore the Washington Post report. Mr. Speaker, a country that produces 70 tons of heroin annually and accounts for a significant part of the heroin consumed in the U.S. market is a matter of concern under any circumstances. That a part of the same country's intelligence establishment can conceive blueprints to use profits from smuggling these drugs for supporting insurgency in Kashmir and export of terror elsewhere is a fact that we ignore at our own peril. ======================================================================== PAKISTAN'S UNACCEPTABLE POLICY ------------ HON. ROBERT MENENDEZ OF NEW JERSEY IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Friday, October 7, 1994 Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, the U.S. Department of Commerce has identified India as one of the most important emerging markets in the world. India is currently opening its economy in ways that were unthinkable only 5 years ago. United States-India bilateral trade is increasing rapidly. Among other items, the United States is selling billion-dollar power plants and telecommunications equipment to India and in return India is selling the United States such products as clothing and computer software. It is in America's national interests to support peace, prosperity, and democracy in India to insure that the economic liberalization which we have encouraged for years stays on track. But the rapid improvements of the Indian economy must be accompanied by political stability. As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I am concerned that our friend and ally, India, the world's largest democracy faces a wave of regional political instability. Recently, troubling reports have surfaced which allege that India's neighbor, Pakistan, is covertly promoting instability in the Jammu, Kashmir, and Himachal regions of India. Specifically, the allegations assert that Pakistan is supporting anti-India Kashmiri insurgents as well as radical veterans of the Afghan war who engage in terrorist violence in the above-mentioned regions. In fact, according to the U.S. State Department's "Global Report on Terrorism for 1994," there were credible reports of official Pakistani support to Kashmiri militants. These terrorist gangs have forced some 250,000 Kashmiri Hindu Pandits and approximately 50,000 Kashmiri Moslems who openly support India into becoming refugees in their own land. Moreover, in recent comments, former Prime Minister of Pakistan and current opposition leader in Parliament, Nawaz Sharif, threatened India with the use of nuclear weapons should India more directly respond to the terrorism in Kashmir and the other provinces. Such tactics can only lead to greater insecurity in both India and Pakistan. Should the situation deteriorate, the consequences could be horrible. It is important that our government immediately impress upon the government of Pakistan that the subversion of other states through state-sponsored terrorism, as recent reports suggest, is unacceptable policy. India needs to focus on domestic issues such as the environment, literacy, health care, and continuing its progress in economic liberalization. In each field much work remains to be done. Countering subversion and terrorism takes the attention of India off these vital issues. America must help India focus its attention on domestic issues. It is my hope that all parties in the region would attempt to arrive at constructive solutions to these difficult problems. [pE2223]