•HCON 200 IH
Whereas on October 15, 1999, General Musharraf declared a
state of emergency, suspended Pakistan’s Constitution,
dismissed the national government and the legislature,
and declared himself Pakistan’s supreme leader;
Whereas Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his brother
Shabaz Sharif who was the chief minister of Punjab, and
several cabinet members have been placed under house
arrest;
Whereas the United States has a vital interest in the pro-
motion of democracy abroad and is strongly opposed to
military takeovers of democratically-elected governments;
Whereas the United States has invoked section 508 of the
Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Pro-
grams Appropriations Act, 1999, as enacted by division
A of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supple-
mental Appropriations Act, 1999 (Public Law 105–277),
which provides that none of the funds appropriated or
otherwise made available under that Act may be obligated
or expended to finance directly any assistance to any
country whose duly elected head of government is de-
posed by military coup or decree;
Whereas Pakistan’s military rulers must understand that the
United States will not carry on a business-as-usual rela-
tionship until a civilian, democratically-elected govern-
ment is returned to power;
Whereas the Department of Defense Appropriations Act,
2000 (presented by Congress on October 14, 1999, for
the President’s approval), would grant the President the
ability to waive sanctions against India and Pakistan oth-
erwise required under section 102(b) of the Arms Export
Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2799aa–1) and section 620E(e)
•HCON 200 IH
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2375),
and would also grant the President, for the first time
since the invocation of section 620E(e) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2375), the ability to
approve commercial and government-to-government mili-
tary sales to Pakistan;
Whereas Congress believes that the United States should not
consider the sale of any military equipment or services,
or reinstatement of Pakistan’s eligibility for international
military education and training, until a civilian, demo-
cratically-elected government is returned to power in
Pakistan; and
Whereas the military has been in control of Pakistan for 25
of Pakistan’s 52-year history, and no democratically-
elected head of state there has completed an elected term
of office: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress—
(1) condemns the overthrow of the democrat-
ically-elected Government of Pakistan by the armed
forces of Pakistan on October 12, 1999, in violation
of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Paki-
stan;
(2) further condemns the subsequent declara-
tion by General Musharraf of a state of emergency,
the suspension of Pakistan’s Constitution, the dis-
missal of the national government and the legisla-
•HCON 200 IH
ture, and the declaration of himself as Pakistan’s
supreme leader;
(3) expresses grave concern about the implica-
tions for security and stability in the South Asia re-
gion, in light of the history of tensions between
India and Pakistan and the fact that both nations
have recently tested nuclear devices, and urges both
of those countries to exercise restraint in the current
environment;
(4) calls for the immediate restoration of a ci-
vilian, democratically-elected government in Paki-
stan, including the legislature, and the restoration of
democracy and the rule of law;
(5) urges the armed forces of Pakistan to re-
spect the human rights of all Pakistani citizens, in-
cluding those members of the national government
who are currently being illegally detained in violation
of their constitutional and human rights; and
(6) calls on the President not to consider exer-
cising the waiver authority which would be granted
to him by the Department of Defense Appropria-
tions Act, 2000 (presented by Congress on October
14, 1999, for the President’s approval), to allow the
sale of any military equipment or services to Paki-
stan, or reinstatement of Pakistan’s eligibility for
•HCON 200 IH
international military education and training, until a
civilian, democratically-elected government is re-
turned to power in Pakistan.
Æ