By IANS,
Washington : As members of US Congress raised “real and serious questions” about Islamabad’s role in the Osama bin Laden affair, a key supporter said a break with Pakistan could limit America’s ability to prevent conflict between India and Pakistan
“We must admit Pakistan is not an easy partner. But distancing ourselves from Pakistan would be unwise and extremely dangerous,” Richard Lugar, top Republican member on the Foreign Relations Committee, said during a Senate hearing Thursday assessing the limits of US policy in Pakistan after the killing of bin Laden.
“It would weaken US intelligence capabilities, limit America’s ability to prevent conflict between India and Pakistan, and further complicate military operations in Afghanistan, end cooperation on finding terrorists, and eliminate engagement with Islamabad on the security of its nuclear weapons” he said.
Defending sending money to Islamabad even after bin Laden was found hiding in Pakistan, Lugar acknowledged that it had raised questions about Pakistan’s reliability as an ally, but cautioned that it is “a strategically vital country with which we must engage.”
Democratic Committee Chairman John Kerry too said that although he is “curious” about whether components of Pakistan’s military or intelligence services were involved in protecting bin Laden, the US should not rush to judgment that might ultimately hurt its national security.
“No matter what we learn about the events that preceded the killing of Osama bin Laden, we still have vital national security interests in this region, and we have worked hard to build a partnership with Pakistan, fragile and difficult and challenged as it may be at times,” Kerry said.
US Institute of Peace South Asia adviser Moeed Yusuf urged pragmatism and realism in US expectations for Pakistan. “Relations with Pakistan will never be ‘good’. But they are still necessary,” Yusuf said.
“There are things that money cannot buy. And in Pakistan’s case, it is their strategic mindset,” he said. “India-Pakistan normalisation is critical for Pakistan, but it is not our aid that is going to do the trick,” he said
US military and civilian aid to Pakistan has totalled about $20 billion during the past decade. After Monday’s raid many have questioned what the US is paying for.