Ahead of Modi's visit, US tables bill to downgrade Pakistan's ally status

June 23, 2017 08:58

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US starting Sunday, two senior American Congressmen have introduced a bipartisan bill that seeks to significantly pare down the country's ties with Pakistan.

Republican Ted Poe and Democrat Rick Nolan on Friday introduced the bill for revoking Pakistan's major non-NATO ally or MNNA status and make "a clean break" from the country that they said had "harboured terrorists" and had "little in the way of being accountable for the money given for fighting, eradicating these groups".

"Pakistan must be held accountable for the American blood on its hands," Poe said in some of the sharpest comments in the Capitol yet against Pakistan.

"From harbouring 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. We must make a clean break with Pakistan, but at the very least, we should stop providing them the eligibility to obtain our own sophisticated weaponry," he said.

Pakistan had been grated MNNA status in 2004 by then President George W Bush to get Pakistan to help the United States fight al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

A MNNA country is eligible for priority delivery of defence material, an expedited arms sale process, and a US loan guarantee program, which backs up loans issued by private banks to finance arms exports. It can also stockpile US military hardware, participate in defence research and development programs, and be sold more sophisticated weaponry.

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