ISLAMABAD, Pakistan ? The five visiting U.S. House members say their agenda couldn?t be more innocent: On Thursday and Friday, they plan to offer their wisdom to Pakistani legislators about ways to strengthen democracy, right down to the nitty-gritty of committee oversight and constituent relations.
Instead, they are walking straight into a buzz saw called Baluchistan.
The western province ? Pakistan?s largest and poorest ? blazed into headlines here when, to the surprise of regional experts, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) introduced a non-binding resolution advocating sovereignty for Baluchistan, where separatists have mounted several insurrections over the decades.
Pakistani leaders and the public exploded with seething anger, street protests and claims that the United States wanted to dismember Pakistan.
?This resolution violates our sovereignty and we condemn it,? Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani fumed.
While Rohrabacher?s Feb. 17 resolution has no force of law, it caused a throbbing diplomatic headache for the U.S. Embassy here ? and stoked suspicions about why Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Rules Committee, Rep. James P. Moran (D-Va.) and three other members of Congress will be in Islamabad for meetings with top officials.
?It will further harm the already strained ties,? an unnamed Pakistani official was quoted as telling the newspaper Pakistan Today. ?As it is a congressional delegation, it will provide the Pakistani leadership a good opportunity to convey to them clearly that Washington?s interference will not be tolerated in a Pakistani province.?
Calling on Gilani on Thursday, the delegation expressed its opposition to the resolution, the minister?s office said in a statement, and pledged support for Pakistan?s ?security and territorial integrity.?
Having spent time in the region, Moran and Dreier are no strangers to Pakistani politics, and in interviews, they expressed no surprise over the furor. They said their visit offers a teachable moment when they meet with Pakistani parliamentarians and other leaders as part of an exchange program called the House Democracy Partnership.
?Obviously,? Dreier said, ?the point needs to be made that a statement made by an individual member of Congress is not necessarily reflective of U.S. policy.?
It may be obvious to Americans, but Pakistan?s foreign office twice summoned Richard Hoagland, the U.S. charge d?affaires in Islamabad, to convey its strong protests ? first over a hearing staged by Rohrabacher on Baluchistan, and then over the resolution.
The measure has two co-sponsors ? Republicans Louie Gohmert of Texas and Steve King of Iowa ? and is among thousands of bills and resolutions introduced so far in the 212th Congress.
?Dana Rohrabacher, Louie Gohmert and Steve Smith ? I don?t think they represent the intellectual mainstream of congressional thought,? Moran said.
The resolution followed a Feb. 8 subcommittee hearing chaired by Rohrabacher that included strong criticism of human rights abuses in the western province, which government critics say has long been financially neglected by Islamabad. Human rights advocates have logged hundreds of gruesome deaths and thousands of forced disappearances there in recent years, allegedly carried out by the Pakistani military.
Source: http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=a6fa9e7fcefb0cc42361673592dd1a3b
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