By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : An Indian American Task Force made up of 150 community leaders is meeting US lawmakers Tuesday to press them to seek the elimination of terrorist training camps in Pakistan, “the source of Mumbai terror attacks”.
“We are here not simply to highlight terrorism directed against innocent civilians in India, but also because we believe that these developments in India represent a clear security challenge to the US itself,” said Mukesh Advani, San Francisco-based joint coordinator of the Indian American Task Force (IATF).
“Americans, Britons and Jews living in or visiting India were specifically targeted by terrorists (during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks),” Advani said.
The IATF believes that it is in America’s own national security interest to ensure the elimination of terrorist training camps in Pakistan, the source of these attacks.
“We are not against Pakistan or the people of Pakistan,” said New York-based IATF joint coordinator Ram Narayanan.
“In fact, we are pleased that Pakistan now has a democratically elected civilian government and we are seeking ways to help Pakistan’s civilian government to eradicate terrorism from its soil,” he added.
“The IATF is seeking peaceful means through grassroots lobby work and dissemination of information to work with US lawmakers to find practical solutions to the volatile situation in South Asia following the Mumbai terrorist attacks,” he said.
“Our goal is to ensure that the interests of the US and India are protected in the ongoing war against terrorism,” added Narayanan.
The IATF is comprised of leaders from nine major national organisations and many more regional organisations spread across the US, representing over 2.5 million US citizens and permanent residents of Indian origin living in the US.