WEB DESK
A bipartisan bill seeking to revoke Pakistan’s status as major non-NATO ally (MNNA) to the US has been introduced in the House of Representatives by two top lawmakers.
Introduced by Republican Congressman Ted Poe and Democratic lawmaker Rick Nolan, the legislation calls for revoking MNNA status of Pakistan, which was granted to it in 2004 in an effort to get the country to help the US fight al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Poe, who is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Trade said Pakistan must be held accountable for the American blood on its hands. He said,Washington must make a clean break with Pakistan, or at least stop providing them the eligibility to obtain US’s sophisticated weaponry in an expedited process. Democratic Rick Nolan said, time and time again, Pakistan has taken advantage of America’s goodwill and demonstrated that they are no friend and ally of the United States.
Under MNNA, a country is eligible for priority delivery of defence materials, an expedited arms sale process and a US loan guarantee programme, which backs up loans issued by private banks to finance arms exports. Last August, the then Secretary of Defence, Ash Carter, withheld USD 300 million in military reimbursements because he could not certify that Pakistan was taking adequate action against the Haqqani network.