US Congressman apologises for not consulting Indian Americans on Kashmir letter to Pompeo

Washington, Aug 13: In an unprecedented move, a US Congressman has apologised to Indian Americans for not consulting them before writing a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to express his concerns on human rights situation in Kashmir after India scrapped the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

Congressman Tom Suozzi in a letter to Pompeo on August 9 said that the the action by the Indian government in Kashmir "risks provoking mass social unrest..." "These new restrictions on the autonomy of the state and the rights of Kashmiris could also embolden extremists and terrorists to act," Suozzi said in his letter after India scrapped Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories.

Agitated over the letter, several Indian Americans, who constitute a significant part of Suozzi's Congressional District in New York and had played a key role in his election and fund raising, flooded the office of the Congressman with angry messages.