‘Pakistan Terrorism Accountability bill’ introduced in U.S. Congress

May 12, 2012 09:42 am | Updated July 11, 2016 04:27 pm IST - Washington

Alleging that Pakistan has for decades leveraged radical terrorist groups to carry out attacks in India and Afghanistan, a U.S. lawmaker has introduced a bill that proposes to deduct $50 million from the U.S. aid to Islamabad every time an American is killed “as a result of actions of ISI.”

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher has introduced the “Pakistan Terrorism Accountability Act of 2012” in Congress.

The legislation would require the Department of Defence to list all Americans killed by terrorist groups operating with impunity inside Pakistan and Afghanistan and supported by elements of the Pakistani government.

For each person killed, $50 million would be subtracted from U.S. foreign assistance to Pakistan, a requested $2.2 billion, and given to the victim’s family. Mr. Rohrabacher is Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.

“For too long America has funded the Pakistani government, giving it free money, while elements of the ISI and Pakistan’s military operate radical Islamic groups that are actively murdering Americans. Americans will not accept this,” Mr. Rohrabacher said.

“Pakistan has for decades leveraged radical terrorist groups to carry out attacks in India and Afghanistan,” he said.

“Pakistan helped to create the Taliban and Pakistan’s intelligence service hid Osama bin Laden from the U.S. for years. Today, one of the most dangerous and sophisticated groups killing American troops in Afghanistan is the Haqqani Network, which is closely operated by the Pakistani government,” Mr. Rohrabacher alleged.

Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, has said the ISI directed the Haqqani Network to plan and conduct “the assault on our embassy [in September 2011]... We also have credible evidence that they were behind the June 28 attack at the Inter—Continental Hotel in Kabul.”

Mr. Mullen has also said “the Haqqani network acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency,” said the statement issued by his office.

According to the legislation Pakistan, through Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), maintains control and influence in Afghanistan through militant Islamic networks, such as the Haqqani Network, in order to secure its strategic position and expand its sphere of influence, not only in Afghanistan, but also in Kashmir and against India.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.