Washington: US Congressmen condemned Pakistan decision to sentence Dr Shakil Afridi’s for 33 years in prison and called it a ‘mistake’, with Dana Rohrabacher saying that it showed Pakistan saw itself at war with the US.
Rohrabacher, chairman for the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, had earlier introduced two bills, calling Afridi should be given US citizenship and awarded with the Congressional Gold Medal, The Express Tribune reported.
“There is no shared interest against Islamic terrorism. On 9/11, Pakistan was coordinating the efforts of the Taliban who were in league with Osama bin Laden. In 2012, Pakistan is still working very closely with the Taliban, whose leader Mullah Omar was plotting with Bin Laden right up until he was killed, according to documents taken from Bin Laden’s Pakistan home. Pakistan was and remains a terrorist state,” he said in a press statement.
“Dr Afridi came through for the American people, now it is our time to come through for him.”
“Advocates of aid argue we should draw a distinction between the civilian government and the military-intelligence cabal who are supporting terrorist groups that murder Americans, but President Zardari’s behaviour at the Nato summit in Chicago indicates that he is either in league with the military or under their domination. Any money that goes to Islamabad will continue to end up in the pockets of people actively and deadly hostile to America.
“Secretary Clinton will have to do more than voice protests over the Afridi case. Both the Departments of State and Defence need to take punitive actions against Pakistan. Carrots are not enough when dealing with an adversary. Sticks are needed to prove we are serious. Cutting off aid to the regime while providing support to groups like the Balochi people who are oppressed by Islamabad will send a message that it doesn’t pay to confront America,” he said.
“Pakistan was invited to the Nato summit to foster cooperation, but no cooperation was evident. Pakistan is still keeping supply lines to Nato forces in Afghanistan blocked. As Nato withdraws, Pakistan sees its chance to increase its use of terrorist groups as its vanguard for taking over Afghanistan and spreading radical Islam throughout the region. We need to enlist Russia and India to support anti-Pakistan forces in Afghanistan such as the Northern Alliance. The Taliban is only the tip of the spear, the real enemy is Pakistan.”
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