US Congressman joins Pakistan Caucus

Congressman Howard Berman, a Democrat from California, has now joined the fledgling Pakistan American Caucus on the Hill.

Congressman Howard Berman, a Democrat from California who had sponsored a bill targeting Pakistan for sanctions on the nuclear issue, has now joined the fledgling Pakistan American Caucus on the Hill.

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Rep Berman, who co-sponsored HR 4965, the nuclear Black Market Elimination Act in 2004, is a senior member of the House International Relations Committee and the Judiciary Committee.

He is a strong voice on issues like foreign aid, arms control, anti-terrorism, human rights, technology policy, trade legislation, copyright legislation, and immigration reform, according to the Pakistan American Liaison Committee (PAL-C), a political advocacy group on the Hill.

With Berman joining the Pakistan Caucus, the number of members has increased to 71, according to the PAL-C.

PAL-C president Rehman Jinnah says he met with Berman last month to discuss a wide range of issues.

Jinnah said he emphasised to the Congressman "that Pakistan is moving towards a civilian and democratic government".

Berman is particularly well-known for his ability to form bipartisan coalitions.

The bill specifically mentions Pakistan as a country against whom sanctions should apply if the US president does not give it a clean chit on nuclear weapons proliferation.

It came at a time when Pakistani nuclear scientist AQ Khan was discovered to have proliferated nuclear technology through an apparently single-handed development of an international network for technology purchases.

On July 22, 2004, the bill was referred to the House International Relations Committee and remains there overtaken by future events with the Bush administration not willing to take any such action in light of the war on terror being fought on Pakistani soil.