WASHINGTON, Nov 18: A bipartisan resolution has been moved in the US Congress, seeking $1 billion for the earthquake victims in Pakistan. The resolution, jointly signed by two key members of the Congressional Pakistan Caucus, Dan Burton and Sheila Jackson Lee, was proposed at a breakfast meeting on Capitol Hill on Thursday.
Later in the afternoon, the two members of the Congress submitted a formal resolution in the house while a concurrent resolution is expected to be moved in the Senate as well. The movers have acquired signatures of two senators required to submit a formal resolution.
“We hope that it will be adopted,” said Pakistan’s deputy chief of mission in Washington, Mohammed Sadiq. “There’s a strong support for the resolution in both chambers.”
On Thursday, representatives of major Pakistani groups in North America gathered on the hill to demand more attention to the plight of the quake victims amid a perception that donor fatigue has set around the world following a spate of natural disasters, topped by the Dec 26 tsunami in the Indian Ocean.
They met more than 120 senators and congressmen on a single day, seeking their support for rebuilding the lives destroyed by the Oct 8 earthquake.
This was the largest ever lobbying effort by the Pakistani community on the hill.
Later, Pakistan Ambassador to US Jehangir Karamat urged leaders of the Pakistani-American community to stay engaged with the legislators as it was the only way to influence policy-making in the US.
He said that while helping the survivors of the earthquake should be their priority, they needed to focus on other issues concerning Pakistan as well.
He identified the issues as bilateral trade and investment, a free trade agreement with the US and continued cooperation in the fields of defence and security.
