Senator calls for cut on military assistance to Pakistan

Senator Kirk says aid should be tied to concrete steps by the Pakistani government.

WASHINGTON: Senator Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) has called on the US government to cut military assistance to Pakistan in the light of the allegations made by the US administration and military about Pakistan having links with the Haqqani network.

In an interview on Morning Joe on MSNBC, Senator Kirk said that the Haqqani network posed a great danger to the US forces in Afghanistan.

Senator Kirk said that aid should be tied to concrete steps by the Pakistani government against the Haqqani network, and also that the US should be allowed to strike against them.

He hailed the reduction in military assistance to Pakistan as done recently by the Senate Appropriations Committee for the fiscal year 2012.

Senator Kirk also called on President Obama to look towards India as a major player and to help them invest in Afghanistan. "I wish that a peaceful Afghanistan could be created out of Pakistan, but it appears that the Pakistani government has committed itself to terror."

Senator Kirk's statement is just one of many that have emerged in the past week after the US government and military officials publicly expressed concern about Pakistan and the ISI's links with the Haqqani network.

The Haqqani network is accused of the attacks in Kabul and Wardak on the US Embassy and US soldiers respectively.