Pen friends: Rohrabacher writes letter to Gilani, calls Pakistan a 'failed state'

Warns that aid for Pakist­an will dry up once the US leaves Afghan­istan.

WASHINGTON: US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher has written a letter to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, condemning the recent violence in Balochistan and has dubbed Pakistan a “failed state.”

According to a copy of the letter received from the Congressman’s Washington DC press office, Representative Rohrabacher cites media reports that policemen killed four people in “unprovoked and
indiscriminate” firing during a raid on a house in Balochistan. Rep. Rohrabacher called it “yet another example in a seeming never ending line of state sponsored violence targeting the Balochi people.”

Congressman Rohrabacher, who is also the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, in his letter, adds, “it has become increasingly clear to members of the US Congress that Pakistan is a failed state and no amount of US aid money will ever change that.”

Rep. Rohrabacher warned that US aid assistance for Pakistan will dry up once US forces leave Afghanistan, and Pakistan’s leverage over the US will diminish as a result. “It is clear that the Pakistani military and intelligence services have for years diverted money intended to help the people of Balochistan, and the other provinces of Pakistan, into funding terrorism and buying weapons to repress their own people.”

In his letter, Rep. Rohrabacher says that until Pakistan’s government and military deny ethnic groups in the country their right to self-determination, the country’s future will “remain bleak and marred by political violence”. He added that he has long held India to the same standard as well.

The Congressman’s letter to PM Gilani says, “the Baloch people have a right to choose their own political structure and America will no long (sic) play a willing role in helping your government to oppress them.”

Prior to this letter, Rep. Rohrabacher had introduced a house concurrent resolution, asking for the Baloch people to be given the right to self-determination. He has also introduced bills asking for Dr Shakil Afridi, who helped CIA confirm Osama’s presence at the Abbottabad complex, to be given US citizenship and be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Rep. Rohrabacher also chaired a Congressional hearing on the human rights situation in Balochistan in
February this year, where-in he called for the Baloch to be given their right to self determination.