Some friends have put together a document (see below) which expresses the concerns of the Indian American community regarding Pakistan and the associated issue of cross-border terrorism, viewed in the larger context of the war on terror.

You are welcome to use it in any suitable manner, such as:

**send a communication to your US House Representative / Senators and request them to ask General Musharraf for an honest and clear stance regarding cross-border terrorism and Pakistan's overall cooperation on the war against terror. You can also request your elected representatives to issue suitable press statements.

**write letters to editors, op-eds, and other such outreach to maximize the message that Pakistan need eliminate any support to cross-border terrorism, as well as cooperate fully with the US in eliminating the menace of terrorism.

To get contact details of your House Rep and two Senators, please follow the procedure described below:

Best wishes,
Ram Narayanan

The following list comprises ten questions. They are for the visiting President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf. They fall into four categories, namely

The questions are preceded by background points on each of the four major categories.

Pakistan has been locked in a 50 years dispute with India over the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Presently, both sides control a portion of the state, with India having the lion’s share. The state has a Muslim majority, prompting Pakistan to claim it belongs to them. Secular India counter claims that the region acceded to India legally at independence, and furthermore that it does not recognize religion being the driving force of nationality. Indeed India has more Muslim citizens than does Pakistan. A plebiscite was agreed by both countries – but never implemented. Pakistan accuses India of bad faith. India points out that under the terms of the plebiscite, Pakistani troops were to vacate Kashmir, which they never did; and that in any event the near total ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Kashmir by terrorists has rendered the result of any plebiscite meaningless. India holds elections every five years, as called for under its Constitution, and earlier this year a new popular government was brought to power in an election regarded by the US State Department as free and fair.

Pakistan has repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to wrest control of Kashmir from India militarily, with three wars having been fought over the region. Since the early 90s, Pakistan changed its tactic with the introduction of cross-border terrorism. Pakistan was able to wage a proxy war against India through terrorists under the assumption that India would not retaliate against a Pakistan newly armed with nuclear weapons. Pakistani-backed "jihadi" terrorists (trained in camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan) would infiltrate across the Line of Control into India under protecting Pakistani fire so as to attack civilians causing their exodus from the state; cause a general breakdown in law and order; and alienate the population from the Indian authorities trying to reimpose order. These terrorists all have links to Al Qaeda, and only under intense US pressure and the threat of war from India did General Musharraf publicly pledge to India and the US that he would stop supporting these groups by banning them, closing down their offices and preventing their infiltration across the Line of Control into India. Pakistan has clearly not lived up to its promises, with most groups getting advance notice of action – and disappearing only to reappear under a new name and guise only a few days later. The risk remains that one major terror attack could trigger full scale war, as the daring attack on the Indian parliament itself nearly did only a year ago – any war today carrying the possibility of nuclear escalation.

Q1: Can you please explain the continuation of so many jihadi terrorist camps in Pakistan Kashmir and in Pakistan proper despite your repeated pledges to the US Administration that they would be closed down?

Q2: Are you serious about wanting to end the Kashmir conflict peacefully? We note that the last time the Indian Prime Minister visited Pakistan, Islamic terrorists backed by your military illegally entered the region known as Kargil, nearly causing an all out war.

Q3: Are you willing to take confidence-building measures, as repeatedly suggested by the Indians, such as granting each other Most Favored Nation status to encourage trade and people-to-people contact?

THE RISE OF ISLAMIC EXTREMISM/TALIBAN ELEMENTS WITHIN PAKISTANI SOCIETY

Since the mid-eighties, the military government in Pakistan has been pressing a policy of Islamization of Pakistani society as a means to unify the country and further to justify its rule. This was done through the introduction of Sharia, or Islamic law, and the massive development of religious schools called Madrassahs, largely funded by Saudi money and teaching an extremely intolerant version of Saudi Islam known as Wahabbi-ism, (also espoused by Al Qaeda.) With the state education system bankrupted by heavy defense expenditures, these Madrassahs have become the school of choice for many poor Pakistani youth. This internal hard-line Islamic policy was mirrored externally by Pakistan’s staunch support to the Mujahadeen fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan.

Despite the end of the Soviet presence in Afghanistan and the introduction of a nominal democracy in the nineties, the Pakistani military continued its external hard line Islamic policies, founding and supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan as a way of extending Pakistani "strategic depth" against India. Furthermore, Pakistan introduced these same jihadi terrorists from Afghanistan (often Arabs) to fight its proxy war in Kashmir. With the reimposition of military rule by General Musharraf, this hard-line support for the Taliban grew even stronger. Only intense US pressure after 9/11 caused Pakistan to abandon the Taliban and to claim it was abandoning such an approach in Kashmir. In the mean time, extreme Wahabbi Islam has only extended its reach on the ground within Pakistan, with the unprecedented election of an extreme Islamic alliance in the North West Frontier Province which borders Afghanistan, and is widely believed to be the hiding place of most senior Al Qaeda leaders. The new provincial government is outspoken against the US, and is rapidly introducing Taliban-style social controls over the population. Continued covert support for the Taliban by this provincial government, as well as by elements within Pakistan’s national security apparatus that never reconciled to General Musharraf’s U turn in Afghanistan has also resulted in a base from which to attack American troops in Afghanistan.

Q4: Please explain to us the new strict Islamic law being imposed in large parts of your country, resulting in severe human rights concerns (particularly for women), and the tacit support given to the Taliban within these provinces

Q5: Is it not true that Pakistan has gone from being a front line state, to becoming the main battle ground in the War on Terror with religions sectarian groups now riding roughshod over large parts of the country – attacking US positions in Afghanistan and then fleeing back into Pakistan?

Q6: Is it not true that large parts of your own intelligence apparatus, the Inter-Services Intelligence (or "ISI") have still not reconciled your decision to reverse longstanding support for the Taliban, and are secretly assisting them, as they are jihadi terrorist groups in Kashmir?

PAKISTAN'S POLICY REGARDING PROLIFERATION OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION AND THEIR SECURITY

Pakistan began a crash nuclear program in 1974 after India exploded a nuclear device. Even though India did not induct nuclear technology into its armed forces, the Pakistani military began a global, covert and illegal espionage net that resulted in Pakistan acquiring and mastering nuclear technology. While Pakistan had nuclear bombs, it lacked effective delivery mechanisms, particularly after US sanctions placed its F-16 fleet into a state of disrepair. It is widely believed that throughout the nineties, Pakistan turned to North Korea bartering its nuclear know-how for missile technology – the result of which is a nuclear North Korea threatening hundreds of thousands of US servicemen and millions of citizens of allied nations, and a missile arms race in South Asia (with India developing its own indigenous missiles). Further to this dangerous and illegal nexus that has developed between Pakistan and North Korea, there remains a distinct risk that elements within Pakistan’s increasingly Islamicized Army may hand over nuclear technology to Islamic terrorist groups. It is known that senior Pakistan nuclear scientists met with Osama Bin Laden himself during the run up to 9/11, and the extent of transfer of knowledge and material remains highly uncertain.

Q7: Please explain the repeated reports appearing in the press that your country bartered nuclear technology with North Korea in order to get missile technology to threaten India – particularly when the design of your missiles so closely match those of North Korea.

Q8: Please explain to us why we should not be extremely concerned that your nuclear know how, which people in your own government have referred to as an "Islamic Bomb", will not find itself in the hands of Islamic terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda. We ask this in the knowledge that members of your nuclear establishment personally met with Osama Bin Laden.

Pakistan has been under direct military dictatorship for over half of its existence with a strong military role even during nominally democratic rule. The present regime of General Musharraf seized power from the democratically elected Nawaz Sharif, and promptly arrested and then exiled him. (The previous coup had actually resulted in the elected prime minister being executed). A referendum was held last year to legitimize General Musharraf’s coup and despite official claims of 60% plus turnout, and 99% "yes" vote for the General, most groups agree that there was minimal turnout and the results were rigged. Furthermore, parliamentary elections were held earlier this year whereby both the leaders of the two main parties (and former prime ministers in their own right) were prevented from returning to the country, resulting in a skewed election and the unprecedented electoral success of the hard-line Islamic extremist alliance, the MMA. The MMA now controls the N W Frontier province, and holds the balance of power in the other province on the Afghan border. It is also the largest opposition group in the federal government. This federal parliament has demanded that General Musharraf drop what is known as the "Legal Framework Order" which legitimizes his rule, and shed his position as Chief of Staff of the Army if he is to continue as President, threatening a constitutional crisis if its demands are not met. It is clear that playing with democracy has resulted in an even more dangerous situation for US interests in stabilizing Pakistan.

Q9: Please explain your current attempts to legitimize your coup, and your continuation as both Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and President, despite clear objections from your Parliament

Q10: Will you allow the former elected prime ministers to return to Pakistan, so that a real and durable democratic process can take route, and not a skewed election process that has perversely encouraged the hard line Islamic extremists from taking power?