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US President elect will approve a Congress bill to declare Pakistan a terror state when the legislation reaches him in what would be a shot in arm for India’s antiterror narrative, said Shalabh Kumar, a key Indian-origin member of Donald Trump’s advisory council and prominent businessman. “President Trump and PM Narendra Modi will undoubtedly share a good chemistry. The Indo-US partnership is expected to touch new heights under Trump Presidency.
A key step that the new president is expected to take is to give assent to the US Congress bill that has been introduced in the house to declare Pakistan a terror state when the legislation reaches him,” Kumar told ET in an exclusive interaction over phone from USA days after the presidential polls. Mounting pressure on Pakistan in the backdrop of the Uri terror attacks, two influential US Congressmen for the first time ever introduced a legislation to designate Pakistan as a terror state by the administration in Washington last September. Congressman Ted Poe, the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, along with Congressman Dana Rohrabacher introduced the ‘Pakistan State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation Act’ in the House on Tuesday. The legislation calls on the US administration to provide a report on designation of Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism.
“The stars have aligned – Modi took the bold step to initiate demonetisation to fight black money and within hours Donald Trump became the 45th President of USA,” noted an ecstatic Kumar, indicating good days ahead for the bilateral partnership. Kumar, who made a fortune as an entrepreneur after migrating to the USA in the 1960s, said the transition team of the president elect is well versed with Indian affairs. He claimed that senior members of Indian government are in touch with Trump team enabling continuity in Indo-US ties. Dismissing fears of loss of jobs for Indian IT professionals under Trump presidency with stricter rules for H1-B visas, Kumar claimed that as US economy will grow by 4-5 % annually under Trump and will boost America’s service sector. “This will increase the demand for Indian IT professionals in America. You will recall positive noises that Trump made about India during his campaign.” He also predicted an increase in Indo-US trade over the next four years.
An area that is expected to receive further boost under Trump presidency is the Indo-US Defence partnership, Kumar said. However, he suggested that India must initiate further steps to encourage ease of doing business including tax reforms and favourable legal mechanism to attract American investments in India.
Kumar, who maintains close contacts with both BJP and RSS, is a member of Indian American Advisory Council of Trump and member of Asian American Advisory Council of Trump. Kumar, the owner of an electronics manufacturing company (AVG Advanced Technologies) and founder of the Republican Hindu Coalition, donated a whopping $898,000 (approximately Rs 6 crore) towards Trump’s victory campaign.
(Times of India)
