White House petition on Pakistan alive, but not active

As White House scrutinises signatures on a petition seeking Pakistan to be designated a state sponsor of terrorism for fraudulent entries, there is a strong possibility that it will not be dismissed altogether.

A White House official told Hindustan Times on condition of anonymity that there are likely to be “more than 100,000 legit signatures” that would therefore trigger an official response within 60 days as per the rules for the online petition site.

Created on September 21, the petition to the White House had cited a legislation moved in congress to demand state-sponsor designation for Pakistan. It was shut down on Monday on suspicion of fraud regarding signatures.

It had received more than 660,000 signatures, way beyond the 100,000 needed to merit a response from the White House under the rules of the initiative, titled We the People, within 30 days of being introduced, that will be October 21.

Attempts to boost the numbers is common, said an official, and, have been treated with the same response under the standard operating procedures of the initiative — they are shut down, or “archived” as the website likes to describe it.

The petition had generated considerable interest in India and the Indian American community here, which rallied behind it in the wake of India-Pakistan tensions following terrorist attacks in Uri and Poonch.

A counter-petition demanding India be designated a “terrorist state” was moved a week after the Pakistan petition, and it is gathering enough signatures, though at a much lower volume — around 88,000 so far, to elicit a response.