Former Pakistani Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani has warned that Washington aid to Islamabad will end up being used against India and not against terrorists. As the US is preparing to sell F-16s fighter jets to Pakistan, the country’s former top diplomat described sale of such military hardware as an appeasement policy towards Pakistani military.
In a prepared remark submitted ahead of a Congressional hearing on ‘Civil Nuclear Cooperation with Pakistan: Prospects and Consequences to the Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade Subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Affairs’, Mr. Haqqani said Pakistan’s failure to tackle its jihadist challenge is not the result of a lack of arms but reflects an absence of will.
Leading South Asia expert on terrorism Daniel Markey has also told American lawmakers that pursuing a civil nuclear deal with Pakistan is not only unrealistic, poorly timed, and unwise, but also counterproductive to the US’ national interest in the near term.