Congressman Thanedar accuses US administration of giving muted response to Pahalgam terror attack

Houston: Congressman Shri Thanedar has accused the US administration of displaying a muted response to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.

“Statements aren’t enough—action is needed," Thanedar, a Democrat, said at a memorial and Congressional briefing organised by HinduACTion along with the Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora (GKPD) and the Kashmir Overseas Association USA (KOA-USA) The event 'Pakistan's Proxy War Against Hindus Global Implications' was organised at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC, on Monday.

Thanedar urged Hindu Americans to mobilise politically and called on Washington to treat India with the same strategic importance as other key allies, notably Israel.

The names of the April 22 Pahalgam attack victims were read aloud and shlokas from the Bhagavad Gita were recited, according to Utsav Chakrabarti, Executive Director of HinduACTion, in a phone briefing and press release shared with PTI.

The briefing was also joined by Department of Defence consultant Krystle Kaul.

Surinder Kaul, co-founder of GKPD, said: “What happened in Kashmir is part of a larger global terrorism challenge. Extremism’s tentacles extend far beyond its borders.” Michael Rubin likened the needed India–US partnership to the Margaret Thatcher–George Bush alliance during the Gulf War, and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to maintain strategic pressure on President Donald Trump.

“There’s no excuse for the US not to stand by one of its closest democratic allies," Rubin said.

Sushant Sareen, senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, cautioned against what he called “Pakistan’s nuclear blackmail,” saying that Islamabad uses its nuclear arsenal to deter accountability while continuing to back jihadist groups.

Utsav Chakrabarti highlighted the troubling flow of US taxpayer dollars to Pakistan.

Speaking on behalf of all co-hosts, Chakrabarti laid out three urgent policy recommendations, including passing a bipartisan concurrent resolution in both the House and Senate declaring Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism.

Other recommendations include immediately halting all multilateral loans and economic aid to Pakistan and enforcing a complete ban on the sale of all military and dual-use technologies to Pakistan.