WASHINGTON (Pajhwok): The US congressmen said that Washington should pursue a different approach with the Pakistani government and an approach that would make clear that the US and Pakistan cannot have a true strategic partnership until Pakistan cuts all ties with terrorist organizations and renounces its use as an instrument of state policy.
“We urge you to consider implementing travel restrictions, suspending portions of assistance, and sanctioning Pakistani officials that maintain relationships with designated terrorist groups,” these views were expressed by US Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and US Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), the Committee’s Ranking Member in a letter sent to Secretary of State John Kerry.
The US media report that in the letter, they said that Pakistan has been devastated by terrorism and only in 2013, more than 3,000 Pakistanis were killed as a result of terrorist attacks.
“Thousands of Pakistani soldiers have been killed and local communities have been brutalized. If Pakistan’s long-term prospects are to improve for all its people, its leaders must make a clear break from the policies of the past,” the letter added.
The Senators while referring to Kerry’s role as foreign secretary said: “We appreciate your personal commitment to the US-Pakistan relationship and look forward to working with you to address this issue and other critical foreign policy matters in the coming year.”
They expressed grave concerns about Pakistan’s failure to combat Islamist terrorist groups operating within its territory.
Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel write: “We urge you to consider implementing travel restrictions, suspending portions of assistance, and sanctioning Pakistani officials that maintain relationships with designated terrorist groups.”
The text of the letter follows:
We remain deeply concerned that Pakistan has failed to take meaningful action against key Islamist terrorist groups operating within its territory. Like you, we were horrified by the December attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar which killed almost 150 people, mostly school children. This recent attack has only heightened our concerns.
As you know, while the Government of Pakistan has taken some steps to disrupt al-Qaeda and the Tehrik-e-Taliban.
We appreciate that you and other senior level Administration officials regularly raise the need to confront these groups with Pakistani officials. Yet it does not appear that this engagement has resulted in any real change in Pakistan’s policies.
We welcome Pakistan’s recent announcement that it will soon ban the Haqqani network, but are skeptical that this will result in any real change to Pakistan’s policy. After all, groups like LET and JuD are ostensibly banned and still able to operate with virtual impunity. Just days ago, on January 25, JuD held a rally in Karachi that appeared to have taken place with government permission. Indeed, given Pakistan’s history of support for terrorist groups, we are concerned that an outright ban will never come.
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