Former United States National Security Advisor (NSA) under President Donald Trump, General H R McMaster has advised US lawmakers against any fresh aid to Pakistan and also said it would be a good idea to remove Pakistan’s status as a major non-NATO ally.
McMaster made this statement when he testified before the Congressional hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said that Pakistan has “had it both ways” for way too long and asked the lawmakers to hold Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan accountable for his statements after the fall of Kabul in August.
“I think we ought to hold Imran Khan responsible for his comments when Kabul fell and he said that the Afghan people have been unshackled. Why should we send a dime to Pakistan under any conditions? I think that they should be confronted with international isolation because of their support for jihadist terrorists, who are threats to humanity, including the Haqqani network, the Taliban, and groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba,” he said.
“I don’t think we should give any assistance to Pakistan at all. I think Pakistan has had it both ways for way too long. I think Pakistan should be confronted with its behavior over the years that has actually resulted, I think, in large measure in this outcome,” McMaster said, reports Hindustan Times.
Under Donald Trump, the US had blocked all security assistance to Pakistan the Biden administration has also not resumed the security aid as of now.
MacMaster also said during the hearing, “I think it’s an extremely dangerous situation in South Asia broadly. …I do think that it is in China’s interest, right? That the Pakistani government and army go after these jihadist groups less selectively. It’s also in the interest obviously of security and stability across South Asia.
“One of the greatest dangers I think would be India suffering this kind of cycle of sectarian violence that you see across the greater Middle East. That could be incited by some of these groups like, you know, Al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba,” McMaster said.
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