News
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Key US senator cautions Pakistan on assistance* Feinstein says cutting military or economic aid will be unhelpful
* Warns that calls to do so have strong congressional support
WASHINGTON: US Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Dianne Feinstein said Tuesday that cutting military or economic aid to Pakistan would be unhelpful but warned that calls to do so had strong congressional support.
“I don’t think that’s useful,” she told reporters one day after Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham called for a full review of ties to Pakistan with an eye on potentially restricting or cutting US assistance.
“My understanding is that there’s some overtures under way to restore the relationship. Well, that’s fine, but I suspect that if a bill were to come to the floor which fenced money, the bill would have a good chance of passing,” she said.
“My very strong feeling is you can’t walk both sides of the street with respect to terror,” said Feinstein.
A joint statement from the veteran American politicians conveyed the depth of feeling felt by many of their contemporaries in Washington about the need to re-evaluate a decade-long strategic relationship that has foundered this year. afp
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk