NEW DELHI: The Government of India elected two American nationals, both Washington based lobbyists for Pakistan, visited Kashmir in September as a Cable News Network (CNN) team and held secret meeting with top militants there.
The Americans, who went to Srinagar on Sept.13 as part of a four member team, were identified as Paul Masnafort J rand Karen Kiva Levinson, They were on tourist visas.
Paul Masnafort Jr is a senior partner of the well-known Washington lobbying firm, Black, Masnafort, Stone and Kelly Levinson who had represented herself in the visa application form as being employed by Bur son Martsellasr, however, surfaced to be the senior vice-president of Blac, Masnafort; Stone and Kelly.
The American firm acts as lobbyists hired by Pakistan through a front organization called the “Kashmiri American Foundation.” The firm, Black, Masnafort, Stone and Kelly, is clearly listed as Pakistan lobbyist in the Directory of Washington Representatives (DWR) published by Columbia Books Inc., The US Department of Justice maintains a foreign interest index with it and all Jobbyists have to register themselves and their clients with the US Department of Justice.
The relevant extract from the DWR under the head “Pakistan” has six lobbying firms and their Pakistani clients. The first of them its Kashmiri American Foundation; Black Masnafort, Stone and Kelly (Paul J. Man a ford Jr.,Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director).
In a conversation with the Delhi based correspondent of “India Abroad News Service” before they left India, both the Americans admitted that they “may have misrepresented the purpose of their visit in the visa application forms (that is, tourism) because that was the only way to sneak into Kashmir,” This is an extract from the TANS report dated Oct.
The details of the American lobbying activities in Srmagar were independently confirmed both by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia, apart from the India Abroad News Service (TANS).
According to documents available, the four persons who reached Srinagar on Sept.13 were Paul Man a ford Jr., Karen Riva Levinson (both Americans), Keith Winston Greaven (British) and Alan Hillair Scott (Australian) Greaves was a former BBC correspondent in the middle cast who retired some months ago to set up a media outfit in Cyprus called “The News Force.” Scott is a cameraman; none of them cared press accreditation cards from the Press Information Bureau, News Delhi, which is required of visiting foreign journalists.
The team’s liaison in Srinagar was Ghulam Nabi Khayal, who also strings for Voice of America (VOA) The team had a TV camera, in Srinagar, “they met a number of people, including well-known militant leaders,” Syed Ali Shah, Geelani and Rafiq Dar of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front ((KLE).
The documents state the team represented itself as a “CNN team” throughout its stay in Kashmir. “They took pictures of buildings with bullet marks on them, interviewed people on the streets, met other militants and local leaders.”
According to a report of the Ministry of External Affairs,” on Sept.15, Greaves and Scott, accompanied by Khayal, went to Sopore” and filmed the town, it continues: “on Sept.16, the two returned again (to Sopore) and were turned back by policemen since there was a curfew in the area.”
Article extracted from this publication >> November 12, 1993
