US and congress not happy with nomination of Masood Khan

Washington, US: Masood Khan’s nomination was sent to Washington by Pakistan Foreign Office in November last year. Media reports say the US deliberately delayed the approval of Pakistan’s ambassador-designate posting in Washington and sought more time for his approval.

In a letter to US President Joe Biden, Congressman Scott Perry asked Biden to reject Masood’s appointment, stating that Imran Khan’s nomination of a bona fide “terrorist sympathizer” working to undermine US interests in the region.

Congressman Perry added that Masood Khan can only be described as a “breathtaking lack of judgment at best,” and “a demonstration of Islamabad’s unmitigated contempt for the United States at worst.”

“While I am encouraged that the State Department has reportedly placed 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,” Scott Perry said in his letter to Biden.

Perry said that Masood Khan has praised both terrorists and foreign terrorist organisations – including Hizbul Mujahideen – in stark and unsettling terms.

“He has 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. In 2017, Khan lashed out at the United States for designating the leader of Hizbul Mujahideen for sanctions, calling those sanctions unjustifiable. In 2019, Khan willingly appeared alongside Fazlur Rehman Khalil, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) who is the founder of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), a US-designated foreign terrorist organisation,” the US lawmaker added.

In the letter, Perry further explained how the Ambassador-designate Masood Khan is a supporter of the terrorist groups Jamaat-e-Islami, as well as Helping Hand for Relief and Development, a group that had no qualms establishing a partnership with the foreign terrorist organization responsible for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.