No mention of a rally in Rawalkot, Azad Kashmir in March 2000 that was attended by US president Clinton could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. Please note that searches were also conducted using the spelling "Rawalakot," and, although no reports of rallies attended by Clinton were found, the following reports may be of interest.

Rallies and demonstrations were held throughout Azad Kashmir on March 22, the day Clinton addressed the Indian Parliament, to protest against the Indian occupation of Jammu and Kashmir (Global News Wire 23 March 2000). In Muzaffarabad, the state capital of Azad Kashmir, a rally was held under the auspices of the Kashmir Liberation Cell (ibid.). The rally was attended by heads of political and religious parties, and the protesters were addressed by the Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry, as well as other leaders (ibid.).

There are reports of rallies that were to be held by the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) in New Delhi during Clinton's visit there (Dawn 20 Mar. 2000; The Tribune 20 Mar. 2000). Members of the JKDFP, who were arrested as they prepared to leave for New Delhi, had intended to hold a peaceful protest rally to draw Clinton's attention to the Kashmir issue (Dawn 20 Mar. 2000; The Tribune 20 Mar. 2000; The Washington Post 21 Mar. 2000).

Clinton made a brief visit to Islamabad as the final stop of a 19-26 March state visit to Bangladesh and India (AFP 25 Mar. 2000; Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran 9 Mar. 2000; AFP 18 Mar. 2000). During his six-hour stay he met with Pakistan's military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, and gave a 15-minute television address to the Pakistani nation (Dawn 25 Mar. 2000; AFP 25 Mar. 2000; The News 27 Mar. 2000).

Prime Minister Chaudhry had urged Clinton to visit Kashmir (The News 10 Mar. 2000), as had Kashmiri freedom fighters in Indian Occupied Kashmir (Dawn 20 Mar. 2000), however no reports of any such visits were found in the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP) [Hong Kong, in English]. 25 March 2000. "Official Says Clinton Pakistan Broadcast 'Consistent' With India Message." (FBIS-NES-2000-0325 28 Mar. 2000/WNC) [Accessed 31 May 2001]

_____. 18 March 2000. "Kashmiri Separatist's Home Raided Ahead of Clinton Visit." (FBIS-NES-2000-0318 21 Mar. 2000/WNC) [Accessed 31 May 2001]

Dawn [Karachi]. 25 March 2000. "Coverage of President Clinton's Visit to Pakistan." http://dawn.com/events/clinton_visit/index.htm [Accessed 11 June 2001]

_____. 20 March 2000. "Mujahideen Attack Srinagar TV Centre." http://dawn.com [Accessed 31 May 2001]

Global News Wire. 23 March 2000. "Strike Observed in Kashmir to Draw Clinton's Attention". (NEXIS)

The News [Islamabad, in English]. 27 March 2000. "Kashmiri Youth Alliance Terms Clinton Visit Total Failure." (FBIS-NES-2000-0327 29 Mar. 2000/WNC) [Accessed 31 May 2001]

_____. 10 March 2000. "Azad Kashmir PM Asks Clinton to Visit Kashmir." (FBIS-NES-2000-0310 13 Mar. 2000/WNC) [Accessed 31 May 2001]

The Tribune [Chandigarh]. 20 March 2000. "Shabir Shah, 15 Supporters Held." http://www.tribuneindia.com/ [Accessed 31 May 2001]

Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran [Mashhad, in Dari]. 9 March 2000. "Iranian Radio on Clinton's Visit to Pakistan." (FBIS-NES-2000-0309 10 Mar. 2000/WNC) [Accessed 31 May 2001]

The Washington Post. 21 March 2000. Pamela Constable. "Near Clinton's India Visit, Violence Flares in Kashmir." (NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Databases

CIA World Factbook 2000.

IRIN

Keesing's Record of World Events 2000.

Library of Congress Country Studies.

LEXIS-NEXIS

WNC

Internet sites including:

BBC World Service

Kashmir Information Network

Kashmir Record and Research Council (KRRC)

Lonely Planet

The Nation

National Archives and Record Administration (USA)

Political Resources on the Net

Times of India

University of Texas

Washington Post

Washington Times