Pallone opposes non-Nato ally status

U.S. Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) has criticised the Bush administration for its proposal to designate Pakistan as a major non-NATO ally (MNNA), calling it “unfair, inappropriate and dangerous.”
“The new designation of MNNA is unfair, inappropriate and, most importantly, dangerous given the volatile nature of the South Asia region,” Pallone, a Democrat from New Jersey, told the U.S. House of Representatives on March 30. He demanded that the Bush administration re-evaluate its policies towards Pakistan, especially in the context of its revelation of clandestine activities of spreading nuclear technology to Libya, Iran and North Korea.
He said Pakistan was not a democratic nation, supported terrorism in Kashmir and had engaged in nuclear activity for which it pardoned the key scientist who aided covert nuclear programmes in rogue nations. Voicing strong opposition to this designation, Pallone told the House that “naming Pakistan ‘major non-NATO ally’ is completely inconsistent with U.S. policies.”


Pakistan’s non-Nato status criticized

Several Democrats have criticized the Bush administration for giving Pakistan non-NATO ally status even though its top scientist A.Q. Khan was probed for operating a nuclear network. The Democrats on the House International Relations Committee felt the administration should have waited for the outcome of the probe to know whether the Pakistani Army and others were involved in the Khan network before conferring the special status on Pakistan.
The angry Democrats got the opportunity to bring up the subject when Undersecretary for Arms Control and Security John Bolton appeared before the Committee on March 30 to testify on new strategies being developed by the Bush administration to advance non-proliferation measures. To persistent questions from the lawmakers, Bolton said the U.S. would take action if it had information about complicity of top levels of the Pakistani government. Meanwhile, former U.S. deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott said that granting the status had led to a backslide in India-U.S. relations.


AAPI honored in resolution

The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), grouping 38,000 physicians and 12,000 medical students, has been honored with a congressional resolution listing their contribution to the U.S.
Democrat Congressman from New Jersey, Frank Pallone, the founder of the Congressional Caucus on India, sponsored the resolution in the Congress, highlighting AAPI’s commitment “to improving access to quality, affordable health care and to enhancing awareness and action on issues affecting Indian American health.”
The resolution, co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 26 legislators including the co-chairs of the India Caucus, Reps. Joe Crowley, a Democrat from New York, and Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina, also called for observing “an American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin Day” to be designated by the Congress.
The resolution also recognizes AAPI’s charitable work as well as the organization’s “leadership role in gathering data on diseases that disproportionately affect Indian Americans.


Hearing on India’s AIDS sought

A group of lawmakers from the US House of Representatives have called for a joint congressional hearing on the status of HIV/AIDS in India. Twenty-two congressmen have cited a recent report by the National Intelligence Council that without the urgent implementation of a sizable, coordinated, and sustained response India could have as many as 25 million HIV/AIDS epidemic cases by the end of the decade. They have sent a formal request to House International Relations Committee chairman Henry Hyde and ranking member Tom Lantos as well as Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Joe Barton and ranking member John Dingell to convene the hearing.
In the bipartisan letter, organized by U.S. Representatives Frank Pallone, Jr., and Barbara Lee, a Democrat from California, the lawmakers spoke of the urgent need to address the issue and the widespread support among members of Congress for a hearing. The 182 members of the Congressional Caucus on India expressed confidence that India could contain its HIV/AIDS pandemic.