US Congressman seeks immediate designation of Pakistan as state sponsor of terrorism

Congressman Ted Poe said in the House of Representatives that Pakistan will not receive any financial support from the US if terrorists continue to live safely in the country.

A top Republican lawmaker has urged the Trump administration to immediately designate Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism and terminate its non-NATO ally status, asserting that Islamabad consistently defends Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and condemns US' counterterrorism efforts.

Congressman Ted Poe said in the House of Representatives that Pakistan will not receive any financial support from the US if terrorists continue to live safely in the country.

"Now is the day of reckoning. All assistance to Pakistan must end, its Major non-NATO ally status must be terminated, and the State Department should immediately designate it as a state sponsor of terrorism," Poe said last week, according to Congressional records.

In his remarks, the Republican Congressman from Texas slammed Pakistan's Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi for what he described as lecturing the US on aid.

"While I do not oppose open engagement with Pakistan, our position must be clear: Pakistan will not receive a dime of US support if terrorists continue to live safely on their soil," he said.

"For too long the opposite has been the case. Fortunately, President Donald Trump has disrupted the status quo and suspended most of the funding we give to Pakistan, specifically calling them out for their support to terrorism. But more should be done," he said. Poe said if Qureshi was truly interested in restoring the relationship between the two countries, he would accept responsibility and acknowledge that countless terrorists still live inside Pakistan.

"His country has been the epicenter for extremism for decades, where extremists are still able to hold massive public rallies to incite young men to violence. This isn't conjecture, the evidence is well documented," he asserted. Poe said Mumbai terror attack mastermind and the founder of the US and UN-designated terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba Hafiz Saeed operated freely in Pakistan.

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/world/us-congressman-seeks-immediate-designation-of-pakistan-as-state-sponsor-of-terrorism-3059351.html