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Thursday, May 19, 2011
US senators urge Hillary, Gates review Pakistan aidWASHINGTON: US senators have urged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary Robert Gates to make sure Pakistan is doing its utmost to battle terrorists before disbursing more US security aid. In a letter addressed to Clinton and Gates, the lawmakers, all Democrats, said, “We recognise the strategic importance of Pakistan. However, we cannot overlook the logical conclusion of recent events, which is to question whether the Pakistani security establishment is ardently working to prevent terrorist groups from operating on Pakistani soil.” The senators called for reviewing Pakistan’s efforts to end its support for terrorist groups, prevent the al Qaeda, Taliban and others from operating on Pakistani soil, and bolster its counter-terrorism and anti money-laundering laws. “We believe that conducting this assessment will be crucial for the Congress to determine whether to provide the full range of security assistance,” said the Democrats, including Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, in the letter. afp
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk