A close ally of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf says US legislation that would link military aid to Pakistan's efforts fighting militants on the border with Afghanistan amounts to "punishing an ally and a friend" and should be withdrawn.
Pakistani Senator Mushahid Hussain, chairman of Pakistan's foreign relations committee and a leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League party, also criticized on Monday what he said was a US policy that insisted on pursuing the war in Iraq before finishing the job in Afghanistan.
Responding to US criticism of Pakistan's efforts against Taliban militants who are said to be using Pakistan as a base for attacks on Afghanistan, Hussain asked: "Why are we being penalized for a failure that is due to wrong policies? Let me tell you that the original sin was committed by Washington."
Hussain said that a bill passed this month by the US House of Representatives should be "withdrawn in the interests of Pakistan-American relations, and in the broader interests of the anti-terrorism campaign."
"Pakistan is a pivotal player in that, and you can't cast aspersions or doubts on Pakistan's commitment when we have shown that commitment at great peril" to the lives of many, he said.
The bill would link military aid to a certification from US President George W. Bush that Islamabad is doing its best to counter Taliban operations in Pakistan and secure its long Afghan frontier.
It was part of legislation to implement recommendations for change by a committee that investigated government actions before and after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the US. The package was sponsored by the House's Democratic leaders.
Afghanistan, Hussain said, "is winnable, provided we all work together, and provided we distinguish between our friends and foes and don't swap roles on that."
The US and Pakistan became allies in the war against al-Qaeda and other terror groups after Pakistan severed support for Afghanistan's then-ruling Taliban militia after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America. The Taliban were providing sanctuary for al-Qaeda kingpin Osama bin Laden and many of his followers.
The proposed US legislation notes a "number of critical issues that threaten to disrupt the relationship between the United States and Pakistan, undermine international security and destabilize Pakistan." Those include Pakistan's porous borders, nuclear proliferation, Islamic extremism and slow efforts to move toward democracy.
The bill has yet to be considered by the US Senate, but it is already causing "considerable heartburn" among Pakistani officials, according to Robert Hathaway, director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Asia Program.
"Many people see this as yet one more example of the United States as an unreliable ally," he said.
Hussain also spoke of recent comments critical of Pakistan by John Negroponte, the outgoing National Intelligence Director, and Lieutenant General Michael Maples, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Maples said Pakistan's border with Afghanistan "remains a haven for al-Qaeda's leadership and other extremists."
US officials, Hussain said, are basing their comments "on the same intelligence that failed to foresee the Indian nuclear tests of May 1998, that has failed to track down Osama bin Laden and that has failed to discover weapons of mass destruction in Iraq."
RSS