Washington: Pakistan was humiliated in an open US Senate hearing with lawmakers and witnesses confirming its terrorism-sponsoring credentials and seeking to further curtail aid to the country if it did not modify its behaviour. In a remarkably candid hearing, US senators openly accused Pakistan of killing of American soldiers in Afghanistan through proxies after perfidiously skimming US taxpayer dollars.
They called Pakistan duplicitous. Supported by expert witnesses, including a former CIA station chief who served in Islamabad, they threatened further cut aides to a country that has long lived on American and western dole when it is not extending its begging bowl towards Saudi Arabia and China for more crumbs.
“We've gone through a period of time where we've both viewed our relationship as very transactional. We tried to change that and deal with Pakistan in a different manner and to create a more whole relationship with them. From my standpoint, that hasn't been very successful,” Republican senator Bob Corker, who convened the hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, declared while expressing frustration at Pakistan's continuing support for terrorist groups.
Corker was particularly incensed that after expending $33 billion in US tax-payer dollars, Washington was finding that Pakistan had spirited out terrorists from the region and was giving them safe havens in urban areas, keeping them out of reach of US drones by hiding them in civilian areas.
“Whereas at one time we were using our drones to ferret out terrorists in that region, what ultimately happened was they moved to the suburbs of Pakistan. They are now getting medical care. The Haqqani network leadership has been living there. The government of Pakistan knows where they live. As a matter of fact, they have safe havens there,” Corker said in remarks that could embarrass the John Kerry-led state department and the Obama White House.
With even US Court proceedings implicating Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI for Mumbai terror strike, Pakistan has tried various strategies to deflect attention, including accusing India of destabilising it, an allegation that has found no traction despite coming from foreign office spokesman Nafees Zakaria. Instead, US lawmakers zeroed in on Pakistan's terrorist credentials, although the death of their soldiers in Afghanistan exercised them more than attacks on India.
