KASHMIR: US Congressman Jim Banks stated that much of the violence in Jammu and Kashmir is tied to organizations linked to separatist outfit Jamat-e-Islami and its partners.
Jamat-e-Islami is a violent, theocratic group that has committed violent acts against minority Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and Ahmadis, he said.
Jim Banks made the comments while addressing a seminar hosted by the Middle East Forum at the US Capitol.
India had banned the Jamat-e-Islam. Jammu and Kashmir for five years under the anti-terror law on grounds that it was “in close touch” with militant outfits and was supporting extremism and militancy in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere.
Referring to the activities of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Banks said that it is a thinly veiled partner group of Jamat-e-Islami within the US.
This group also played an abhorring role to suppress the freedom movement in the former East Pakistan (Bangladesh), where its affiliated terror groups- al-Badr and al-Shams- actively participated along with Pakistani military in the massacre of nearly three million Bengalis, he alleged.
South Asia expert Seth Oldmixon highlighted the role of the outfit in promoting and exporting religious extremism and terrorism on a global scale and warned of the dangers of ignoring its activities and its affiliates in North America.
(Agencies)
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