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US Congressmen seek to preclude Pressler waiver

Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone announced last night his decision to introduce a legislation in the United States House of Representatives next week to prevent President Bill Clinton from waiving the Pressler Amendment sanctions on the resumption of American military assistance to Pakistan.

In a statement issued in Washington, he said he proposed to introduce the legislation as a free-standing bill next week. He would also search for another legislative vehicle to which the Pressler waiver prohibition could be attached as an amendment.

''The intent of my legislation is essentially to return to the status quo on the Pressler Amendment,'' Pallone said, adding, ''I believe Congress made a mistake in granting the President waiver authority over Pressler.''

Meanwhile, several other Congressmen, including house minority leader Richard A Gephardt and ranking Democratic member on the House International Relations Committee Sam Gejdenson, issued statements opposing the possibility of the re-establishment of military supplies by the US to Pakistan.

Gephardt said the establishment of a new coalition government led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in India offered the US a new opportunity for making ''important progress on security and other bilateral issues''.

''I hope that as the administration proceeds to implement these and related measures contained in the department of defence appropriations act, it will do so with the goal of enhancing stability in the region,'' he added.

Gejdenson asked the president not to use the authority to waive the Pressler or Glenn Amendments for any assistance to Pakistan ''until, at a minimum, a democratically-elected government is restored to power.''

''By declaring an emergency, General (Pervez) Musharraf has instead declared to the world his disregard for the rule of law,'' Gejdenson said, calling on the Pakistani military to immediately restore the constitution and return the democratically-elected government of Nawaz Sharief to power.

Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans co-chairman Jim Greenwood drew attention to the role the Pakistani military leadership played in the recent Kargil conflict and the current coup and said, ''it is for these reasons that I oppose any resumption of arms sales at this time to Pakistan.''

Democratic Congressman Robert Wexler was confident that Clinton would evaluate the current situation in Pakistan and decide not to exercise his waiver authority and send a strong and clear message to the military government.

Congressman Rush Holt, also a Democrat, said the resumption of arms sales to Pakistan would only support the coup's perpetrators but also exacerbate tensions in the region.

UNI

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