Indian-American lawmaker Ro Khanna who recently joined the Pakistani Congressional Caucus has said that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan needs to cool his heated rhetoric on the Kashmir issue.
"Kashmir is an internal matter for India's democracy and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan needs to cool his heated rhetoric and not escalate to a war or conflict," Congressman Khanna told members of the Indian-American community during an interaction in Freemont, California recently
"Imran Khan's rhetoric of war with India is absolutely ridiculous," Khanna, the two-term Democratic Congressman representing Silicon Valley in the US House of Representatives, was quoted as saying by local India Post in its latest weekly edition.
During the interaction, the Kashmiri-American community appreciated his support in democratic resolution of the conflict and upliftment of communities from poverty and terror.
Meanwhile, in a tweet earlier this week, Congresswoman Ilhan Abdullahi Omar expressed her concerns over alleged human rights violations in the Kashmir Valley. She urged for an immediate restoration of communication, respect for human rights, democratic norms, and religious freedom and de-escalation.
A report prepared for US lawmakers by the bipartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) said that Pakistan military has dominated the Imran Khan government as much as the previous governments.
During Imran Khan's tenure as prime minister, Pakistani military continues to be the dominant influence over Pakistan's foreign and security policies. Khan had no governance experience prior to winning his current office and analysts contend that Pakistan's security services manipulated domestic politics during elections with a motive of removing Nawaz Sharif, the report said.
"Most analysts see Pakistan's military establishment continuing to retain dominant influence over foreign and security policies," reads the report.
(With PTI input)
