A US Republican congressman has reintroduced a legislation bill in the House of Representatives to terminate the status of Pakistan as a major non-NATO ally.
Congressman Andy Biggs, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, while reintroducing the bill, noted that “the legislation suggests the president should not issue any certification in this regard unless and until Pakistan continues to conduct military operations against the Haqqani terror network.”
“The Pakistani side should ensure that its military operations that are contributing to significantly disrupting the haven and freedom of movement of the Haqqanis inside Pakistan,” he said.
The certification also needs to say that Pakistan has taken steps to demonstrate its commitment to preventing the Haqqani Network from using Pakistan as a haven and that Islamabad actively coordinates with the Afghan government to restrict the movement of militants such as the Haqqani Network along the Afghan-Pak border.
The bill aimed to restrict US military aid to Pakistan was first introduced in the US House of Representatives by Biggs in January 2019 and then in every Congress since then.
However, with the Haqqani network along with the US involvement in Afghanistan, the bill never made any impact on the US Congress and has since seen multiple failures.
Pakistan was designated a Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) by the United States on June 16, 2004, under the administration of President George W. Bush.
This status was granted to strengthen military and strategic ties between the two countries, particularly in the context of cooperation in the War on Terror.
Pakistan played a major role in the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, post-9/11 attacks. However, the CIA has always accused Pakistani ISI of playing dual games during their 20-year-old long war on terror networks operating inside Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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