By Karim Amini
An influential U.S. Congressman on Friday introduced a strongly worded bill in the United States Congress to declare Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism, media reports said.
"Not only is Pakistan an untrustworthy ally, Islamabad has also aided and abetted enemies of the United States for years," said Congressman Ted Poe, who is Chair of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism.
"From harboring Osama bin Laden to its cozy relationship with the Haqqani network, there is more than enough evidence to determine whose side Pakistan is on in the War on Terror, and it's not America's. It is time we stop paying Pakistan for its betrayal and designate it for what it is: A state sponsor of terrorism," Poe said while introducing the bill, the Pakistan State Sponsor of Terrorism Act of 2017, in Congress yesterday.
The bill requires the US President to issue a report within 90 days, answering whether Pakistan has provided support for international terrorism. Thirty days after that, the Secretary of State is required to submit a follow-up report, which says that Pakistan is a state sponsor of terrorism, or a detailed justification as to why it does not meet the legal criteria for such a designation.
It's time for a "radical reset" with Pakistan, said Congressman Poe and James Clad, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asia, in an article in Nationalinterest.org dated March 8. They say the US is in "a toxic relationship" with Pakistan and needs to "to finally set limits on its indulgence" towards Islamabad.
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NOTE: The “US Congressman Ted Poe” Link in the above was added by PacificSentinel for clarity & context.