US LEGISLATION SEEKS TO SCRAP PAK’S NONNATO ALLY STATUS

WASHINGTON: Two US congressmen have introduced a bipartisan legislation to strip Pakistan of the status of a major non-NATO ally (MNNA), which comes with significant defence benefits, saying it has failed to act against terrorists.

The bill was introduced on Thursday by Ted Poe, a Republican representative from Texas who has long advocated tough measures against Pakistan over its reluctance to combat terrorism, and Rick Nolan, a Democrat from Minnesota. “Pakistan must be held accountable for the American blood on its hands,” Poe said in a statement. “For years, Pakistan has acted as a Benedict Arnold (a general from American civil war who switched sides) ally of the United States. From harboring Osama bin laden to backing the Taliban, Pakistan has stubbornly refused to go after, in any meaningful way, terrorists that actively seek to harm opposing ideologies.”

Nolan said the “billions of dollars we have sent to Pakistan over the last 15 years has done nothing to effectively fight terrorism and make us safer. It is time to wake up to the fact that Pakistan has ties to the same terrorist organizations which they claim to be fighting.” HTC