Washington: The anti-India ‘Friends of Kashmir’ group in the United States has been found to be actively linked to the banned Islamist terror groups and the Pakistan government.
Sam Westrop and Martha Lee of the Middle East Forum (MEF), widely known for its meticulous journalistic investigations in the US, have unearthed the nexus between a Texas-based group, ‘Friends of Kashmir’, Pakistani regime and the US Congress members. The authors, in their joint investigation have exposed how the Pakistani establishment exerts its influence through its terror groups in Kashmir, its diaspora and various fronts and lobbies in the US.
On August 5, 2020, Friends of Kashmir and its head – a prominent pro-Pakistani activist, writer and self-described poet named Ghazala Habib – organized an online discussion on Kashmir, in collaboration with the Pakistani embassy and its consulate in Houston, Westrop and Lee have noted in their comprehensive report. Speakers at the webinar included the two co-chairs of the United States Congress’s Pakistan Caucus, the President of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and the Pakistani ambassador to the United States and the Houston consul-general. Other speakers included Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, along with Texas state legislators Ron Reynolds and Terry Meza.
The webinar was held to run Pakistan’s campaign against India, launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan after the Modi government brought the state of Jammu & Kashmir on August 5, 2019, at par with other states of India.