Frustrated with Pakistan, US Congressmen decide to discuss country's support for terror

Days after Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani told the Nato Summit in Warsaw that Pakistan continued to side with terrorists, and Saudi Arabia arrested 12 Pakistanis for jihadi attacks in the kingdom during Ramzan, a joint committee of the US Congress will meet on Tuesday to discuss whether Pakistan is a “friend or foe in war against terrorism”. Many in the US Congress from both Democratic Party and Republican Party have begun to distrust Islamabad and in recent months had stopped US administration from helping Pakistan to buy F16 fighter jets . On Tuesday, the House Subcommittees on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade and Asia and the Pacific will jointly hold this hearing to determine how to deal with Pakistan, an old ally. Over the last several months, there has been growing frustration and anger among many in US at Pakistan’s duplicity in dealing with terrorism. At the same time there is recognition in both the administration and among policymakers that Pakistan cannot be isolated either and pushed beyond a point. Pakistan is an important player in Afghanistan and has control over terror groups operating in the region. [caption id=“attachment_2889176” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] A hearing at a US Congress joint committee meeting where Pakistan’s actions would be discussed and debated will add to the rethink among US policymakers on the need to reassess policy towards Pakistan. By September, Pakistan would need the IMF to release the final instalment of $510 million that is part of a $6.2 billion package. A review meeting cleared the release but would need the IMF executive board’s approval. Some in the US believe that release of the last tranche of IMF loan could be linked to Islamabad taking steps to control the Haqqani terror network. In the run-up to Tuesday’s joint committee hearing, chairmen of two sub-committees issued a statement that reflected the anger towards Pakistan’s policy of support to terror groups. The chairman of one of the subcommittees is a Republican lawmaker, Congressman Ted Poe, a strong critic of Pakistan. In a scathing criticism of Pakistan’s support for terrorism, Congressman Poe observed in a statement that, “Pakistan’s long history of ties to terrorist groups, including those with American blood on their hands, is well documented. Pakistan’s military intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), provides support to various terrorist organisations, including the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and the Haqqani network, in a bid to exert influence over Pakistan’s regional rivals…” He explained that the meeting had been called to help Congressmen reassess US foreign policy on Pakistan. Chairman Matt Salmon heads the Sub-Committee on Asia and Pacific. He stated: “The United States has spent tens of billions of taxpayer dollars in aid to Pakistan since 9/11.  Now, 15 years later, Pakistan’s military and intel services are still linked to terrorist organisations and little success has been made to stabilise the region.  We must take a closer look at US goals, expectations and our aid spending in the region. In this hearing, we will discuss the Administration’s failed policy toward Pakistan and debate the best way forward.” Last week at Warsaw Summit, President Ghani of Afghanistan, who when he came to power invested a lot of energy in courting Pakistan’s military generals only to get frustrated later, did not mince words in his assessment of Islamabad. Ghani said that while regional initiatives with neighbours “are beginning to yield significant cooperative dividends. The exception is with Pakistan — despite clear commitments to a quadrilateral peace process, their dangerous distinction between good and bad terrorists is being maintained in practice”. Three witnesses invited by the US joint committee to speak on the subject have been severe critics of Pakistan. Zalmay Khalilzad, former US ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq, has in recent months written and spoken extensively on the need to “isolate Pakistan like North Korea” to force it to end support to terror groups. He will share his personal experience in dealing with Pakistani generals. In a recent interview with _Firstpost_ in Delhi, the ex-envoy said even the IMF assistance needs to be delayed to make the generals understand. The other two witnesses are Bill Roggio, senior editor, Long War Journal, and Tricia Bacon, assistant professor, American University. Roggio has argued that the extent of co-operation among various terror groups with Al-Qaeda as the leader has been underestimated by the US. He has also stated that Al-Qaeda is executing its strategy of incorporating regional jihadist groups successfully. He wrote, “Al-Qaeda is executing its strategy of incorporating elements from the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, Harakat-ul- Muhajideen, Harakat-ul- Jihad-al- Islami and Brigade 313, Jaish-e- Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, the Indian Mujahideen, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Turkistan Islamic Party, Junood al Fida, and other groups based in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. This vision was outlined by Ayman al Zawahiri in September 2014, after he announced the formation of AQIS." The Joint Sub-Committee hearing and its deliberations will certainly add to the ongoing discussion in US on Pakistan. Three decisions in recent months by the US Administration and pressure from the Congress did signal a change in American policy towards Pakistan: decision not to sell F16s, the drone killing of Mullah Mansour in Pakistani Balochistan and US support for India-Afghanistan-Iran agreement on Chabahar project. For years, US governments turned a virtual blind eye to Pakistan’s duplicity on terrorism when Indian governments spoke about it. But now there seems to be a change in mood. And the Modi government has zeroed in on highlighting Pakistan’s support to terror not just in India, but across the world to make US policymakers accept the seriousness of what Rawalpindi generals are up to. Speaking at the US Congress in June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the breath and depth of Pakistan’s support to terrorism when he said, “Not just in Afghanistan, but elsewhere in South Asia, and globally, terrorism remains the biggest threat. In the territory stretching from west of India’s border to Africa, it may go by different names, from Lashkar-e- Taiba, to Taliban to ISIS. “But its philosophy is common: of hate, murder and violence. Although its shadow is spreading across the world, it is incubated in India’s neighbourhood.”