DATE

The Honorable <NAME OF YOUR CONGRESSMAN>

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515-4608

Dear Congressman (or Congresswoman):

As an active member of the Pakistani-American community, I want to convey to you my concerns over a serious issue relating to unfair sanctions imposed on Pakistan.

Firstly, in the year 1974 and again in May 1998, India detonated its nuclear devices. As soon as Prime Minister Vajpaee declared India a nuclear state, BJP hardline leaders including the Party President K. Thakre, started issuing aggressive statements over Kashmir, hinting that nuclear India should now take back Pakistani administered 1/3 portion of Kashmir by force.

Indian Home Minister L.K. Advani, a hardliner in the Hindu Nationalist BJP government made the following remarks to reporters on May 19^th, 1998.

"Islamabad should realize the change in the geo-strategic situation in the region and the world (and) roll back its anti-India policy, especially with regard to Kashmir,"

"India's bold and decisive step to become a nuclear weapons state has brought about a qualitatively new stage in Indo-Pakistan relations, particularly in finding a solution to the Kashmir problem"

"It signifies ... India's resolve to deal firmly and strongly with Pakistan's hostile designs and activities in Kashmir,"

Pakistan was compelled to detonate its nuclear device which it did on May 28, 1998 in self defense against possible black mailing and threatened attack by India.

Immediately thereafter, the U.S. Administration imposed sanctions against Pakistan and India. However, the sanctions had much more serious effects on the economic and human resource development in Pakistan than India, as the latter continued receiving economic and military assistance from Russia as before.

Recently, public debate has started in the United States on lifting these sanctions. However, it is rumored that sanctions against Pakistan are not likely to be lifted. Some of the senior officials like Richard Armitage have started a strong anti-Pakistan rhetoric to please the pro-Indian lobbying groups in Washington DC. The Pakistani American community feels that such a treatment with Pakistan, which remained aligned and stood firmly with the US during cold-war era while India was enjoying economic and military benefits of its friendship with Soviet Russia, would be unfair and discriminatory.

If sanctions against Pakistan are not lifted, they would further worsen economic and political conditions in Pakistan. They would encourage anti-democratic and religious fundamentalist forces in the country. Besides having de-stabilizing effect, the unfair sacntions would also jeoperdize strategic and economic interests of the United States in the region.

I therefore urge you to accentuate upon the US Administration to be fair and non-discriminatory in lifting sanctions, so that Pakistan gets a chance to overcome its economic difficulties and to improve its relations with USA for mutual benefit of our two countries.

Sincerely yours,

YOUR NAME, ADDRESS