Indian-Americans pressure US to cut aid to Pak

Washington: Ahead of the ISI chief’s meeting with the Congressmen, Indian-Americans swooped down at the Capitol Hill on Thursday asking American lawmakers to cut all US aid to Pakistan. During his stay in Washington till Friday, visiting ISI chief Lt Gen Zaheer ul-Islam is scheduled to meet eminent American lawmakers at the Capitol Hill. [caption id=“attachment_401485” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Taliban. Agencies[/caption] Indian-American community leaders under the banner of National Indian American Coalition (NIAC) said they are encouraged by the recent Congressional move to cut aid to Pakistan. “We want that the Congress pass the legislation to cut its aid to Pakistan,” Chicago-based businessman Shalli Kumar of the NIAC said after the meeting. About 10 US lawmakers including Joe Walsh, Ted Poe, Kevun Yoder, Pete Olson and Steven Yates attended the “Coffee with Congress” event organized by NIAC at the Capitol Hill. Following this NIAC members met other US lawmakers on a busy day at the Hill. Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP spokesperson, who represented her party at the meeting, said that recent moves in the Congress to cut aid to Pakistan are an encouraging sign. “These (US) aids seem to be misdirected towards encouraging and facilitating terrorists groups in Pakistan, who seem to be moving freely in Afghanistan and also probably targeting India,” she said. “The suspicion that any aid that goes to Pakistan may get misused is increasingly getting affirmed by Senators and Congressmen in the US who are approaching their own government to cut aid to Pakistan. We from India feel that not only as a collateral damage, India faces disastrous consequences, but also we are prime targets for these non-State operators,” Sitharaman said. NIAC has succeeded in sending more than 50,000 petitions to the US Congress in support of Congressman Ted Poe’s bill to cut off all foreign aid to Pakistan. PTI