Masood Khan

"Coinciding with this development, Scott Perry, a Republican member of the US Congress, has written a letter to President Joe Biden, demanding that the US administration should “reject any democratic credentials” presented by Khan in view of his background as a “bona fide terrorist sympathizer working to undermine” American interests in the region and the “security of our Indian allies”. In a January 27 letter, Perry wrote that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s nomination of Khan “can only be described as a breathtaking lack of judgement at best, and a demonstration of Islamabad’s unmitigated contempt for the United States at worst”. Perry contended that Khan has “praised both terrorists and foreign terrorist organizations – including Hizbul Mujahideen – in stark and unsettling terms” and “encouraged young men to emulate jihadists like Burhan Wani, a former commander of Hizbul Mujahideen who dedicated his life to a holy war against India”. He further wrote that Khan “lashed out” at the US in 2017 for designating the leader of Hizbul Mujahideen for sanctions, and willingly appeared alongside Harkat-ul-Mujahideen founder Fazlur Rehman Khalil, a specially designated global terrorist, in 2019. Perry referred to the US treasury department’s assertion that Khalil had a close relationship with al-Qaeda and its slain founder, Osama bin Laden. Perry also accused Khan of supporting the “Helping Hand for Relief and Development”, a group that has a partnership with the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was responsible for killing 166 people during the 2008 Mumbai attacks. “A litany of examples accompanies Mr Khan’s perverse attachment to Islamic terrorism, which makes it exceedingly obvious that Pakistan has embraced its identity as a super terrorist state,” Perry wrote. “While I am encouraged that the State Department has reportedly put a pause on approving Masood Khan as the new Ambassador from Pakistan, a pause is not enough. I urge you to reject any diplomatic credentials presented to you by Masood Khan and reject any effort by the Government of Pakistan to install this jihadist as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States,” he added…."