Restricting or conditioning of military aid to Pakistan will be detrimental to US interests as it may “reduce” the country’s willingness to continue its counterterrorism operations, top Pentagon comma
Restricting or conditioning of military aid to Pakistan will be detrimental to US interests as it may “reduce” the country’s willingness to continue its counterterrorism operations, top Pentagon commanders have warned legislators.
“The risks of ineffective and unclear signals and conditioning may risk us losing our access and frank dialogue to Pakistan in areas critical to our US interests,” General Joseph L. Votel, nominee of the commander of US Central Command told members of the Senate armed services committee during a confirmation hearing.
Gen. Votel warned that curtailing aid “may reduce” Pakistan’s willingness to continue its counterterrorism and counterinsurgency and “risks our current access” to Pakistan’s Air Lines of Communication and Ground Lines of Communication to support operations in Afghanistan and other parts of the region.
“We will need to continue cooperation with Pakistan to defeat Al Qaeda, support Pakistan’s stability, and achieve a lasting peace in Afghanistan,” said Lieutenant General Raymond Thomas, nominee for US Special Operations Command during his confirmation hearing before the Senate armed services committee.
The US-Pakistan relationship is fundamental to our vital national security interests, Gen. Thomas said.
“If confirmed, I would in consultation with Commander United States Central Command continue to evaluate the specifics of the relationship based on my assessment of our shared interests with Pakistan and its effectiveness of achieving our shared goals,” Gen. Thomas said.
Terming the Haqqani network as the greatest threat to the US forces in Afghanistan, Commander of the US Central Command General Lloyd J. Austin said it is time for Pakistan to “take decisive action” against this Pakistan-based terror group. “We need Pakistan to take decisive actions against the Haqqani Network (HQN). The Pakistanis are uniquely positioned to counter the HQN, which remains the greatest threat to our forces and to stability in Afghanistan long-term,” Gen. Austin the Senate armed service committee.
US Senator Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee, said on Wednesday that he does not expect an upcoming vote on a $700-million sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan to keep the deal from going ahead.
However, he said there was still discussion on whether US taxpayer funds could be used to finance the purchase. The Obama administration announced in February that it had approved the sale of the jets to Pakistan.
