Three US lawmakers have written to Attorney General of the United States Merrick Garland regarding the appointment of Masood Khan as Pakistan’s envoy to the United States. Republican lawmakers Scott Perry (Pennsylvania), Gregory Steube (Florida) and Mary E. Miller (Illinois) in a strongly-worded letter warned the Biden administration against Masood Khan’s appointment.
“While it defies reason that Masood Khan was approved, his close relationships with domestic actors linked with the Pakistani regime remains a critical concern,” the three Republican lawmakers said in their letter. All three lawmakers pointed out that Masood Khan’s soft-spot for Islamists and jihadists can be a cause of concern for the security of the United States.
The letter pointed out Khan is closely related to Ghulam Nabi Fai, a man who pleaded guilty to serving as a secret agent of the Pakistani government in the US. Fai received $3.5 million from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) which he funnelled into the Kashmiri American Council. Khan was also a speaker at an event hosted by Fai, after he was released.
The lawmakers also pointed out that Khan is related to Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD) which according to Johns Hopkins University Professor Vali Nasr is one of the eight branches of Jamaat-e-Islami.
Jamaat-e-Islami is a notorious organisation which massacred Hindu Bengalis in then East Pakistan in 1971 and also killed atheists, seculars and Muslim LGBTQ activists in Bangladesh between 2011-2016.
Khan also served as the so-called president of the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The lawmakers in their letter expressed concern regarding Friends of Kashmir and Masood Khan proximity to the group.
The letter pointed out that the group which operates out of Houston has taken out rallies and marches trying to malign the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Friends of Kashmir in the past has organised rallies to paint the Modi-led government in India as anti-Muslim, anti-minority and falsely accused it of committing atrocities against the people in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir.
“He clearly supports terrorists, and if this Administration is happy to provide him with a diplomatic visa, the American People deserve – at the very least – the due diligence from our Government for a thorough investigation and answers,” the three lawmakers pointed out.
It also listed that Masood Khan met ‘proxies of violent Kashmir-based Islamist groups’ several times in association with Ghulam Nabi Fai.
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