Washington should suspend all assistance to Pakistan: Former US diplomat

New Delhi: Former US Diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad today said that it is the military and the ISI in Pakistan that decide the key foreign and national security policies and not Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
"There is a vacuum clearly, but on critical issues of national security I think the PM's role, as the case has been with other civilian leaders, is very limited. It is the military and ISI that decide the key foreign and national security policies," the former US envoy to Afghanistan and Iraq told ANI.

On Pakistan's inaction against Hafiz Saeed and asking for more evidence for the 26/11 attacks, Khalilzad said, "That is a mistake by Pakistan. India and US should speak and co-operate each other against terrorism."

He also said that Washington should suspend all assistance to Pakistan, until it changes its policy of 'supporting terrorism'.

"All assistance from the US to Pakistan needs to be suspended including, assistance from multinational originations such as IMF, till Pakistan changes its policy on support for extremism and terror,” he said.

He also pointed out that there have been some changes in the US policy towards Islamabad, in terms of reduction of assistance including the Washington's refusal to subsidies the deal of F-16 jets to Pakistan.

Khalilzad further said that Pakistan needs to be fearful of becoming the next North Korea, implying its isolation from the world.  "Pakistan has to be threatened with prospect for becoming another North Korea and isolated from the world. That might help Pakistan reconsider its approach" he said. - Read More

Washington should suspend all assistance to Pakistan: Former US diplomat