
Pakistan, which has received at least USD 13 billion from the US over the last eight years for its war on terrorism, is "undermining that very war," limiting the effort to its own enemies and continuing to support the Afghan Taliban, a US academician testified before lawmakers.
"Pakistan is, in fact, limiting its war on terrorism to those elements that undermine the Pakistani state. And those elements are not comprehensively the enemies of the United States. They are specifically the enemies of Pakistan," Assistant Professor at Georgetown University, Christine Fair said at a Congressional hearing on Friday.
"Having receiving USD 13 billion, if not more, from the United States to participate in the war on terrorism, Pakistan continues to support the Afghan Taliban.
This means that Pakistan is undermining the very war on terrorism that it has received handsome reward allegedly to support," she said testifying before the House Armed Services Committee's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.
In order to stabilise the region, the US needs to compel Pakistan to cease supporting all militant groups operating on and from its territory over a reasonable time frame, she said.
"This includes coercing or compelling Pakistan to abandon its continued support of the Afghan Taliban."
In response to a question, Fair said America's inability to compel Pakistan to cease supporting all militant groups is actually the crux of instability in South Asia.
"Let's remember that it was a Pakistan-based and -backed terrorist group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, that attacked the Indian Parliament in '01-'02, which brought the largest mobilisation of forces throughout the country, both of them to a near-war crisis with the spectre of nuclear escalation," she said.
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