US lawmaker threatens Senate over Pakistan aid
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid, Senator Rand Paul says he is prepared to pursue "any and all means" to secure a vote on his bill immediately. His letter states that this may include objecting to other Senate business and recessing the Senate for the election.
The letter came after Fox News interviewed Dr Shakil Afridi, who helped the CIA in the quest to find Osama Bin Laden and verify his identity in Abbotabad through a fake vaccination scheme. The letter, penned by Senator Paul, is in response to Dr Afridi's claims that he was tortured by the Government of Pakistan.
According to a statement, Senator Paul said, "I will continue to work tirelessly to keep this issue front and center. America should not give foreign aid to a country whose government is torturing the man who helped us kill Osama bin Laden. We should not be giving foreign aid to any country that is not clearly our ally. This must end, and this week I will renew my push for a vote on this issue, including holding up Senate business to accomplish this goal."
Senator Paul, in his letter, said, "No foreign government as blatantly defiant of American priorities as Pakistan should benefit from billions upon billions of American taxpayer dollars. It is time for that practice to come to an end."
The text of his letter can be found here.
Correction: An earlier version of this article's headline incorrectly stated Lower House instead of US Senate. The error is regretted.
COMMENTS (48)
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@Ajay: "You mistakenly think that Pakistan can stand on its own feet when nothing works in Pakistan at people or system level. The problem is not just on foreign dependence or corruption but also in the mindset. In addition the society is deeply divisive and these things take years and years to mould" You may be rightful on your this stance but not completely because when we shall not have any chances,we shall not take solid practical steps and we shall not take full advantages from the available resources within Pakistan to stand on our own feet to get real,true and uninterrupted sovereignty we can't advance and develop and always we shall be US-aid's dependent.Because to get prosperity and sovereignty some solid and harsh steps have to be taken and when we shall not work hard and struggle honestly and sincerely and we shall not sacrifice our useless wishes and desires towards getting prosperity and sovereignty and always we would like to spend luxurious,kingly and lavish life we can't free ourselves from US' monopoly and here I agree with you "In addition the society is deeply divisive and these things take years and years to mould" and in reply I would write only these words that when we shall commence/start we shall get/reach the destinations/goals and when we shall not commence/start we can never get/reach the destinations/goals of prosperity and sovereignty and US-aid's dependence shall be only our fate........
@M.Ahmer Ali: You are asking for something without realizing what you are asking for. You mistakenly think that Pakistan can stand on its own feet when nothing works in Pakistan at people or system level. The problem is not just on foreign dependence or corruption but also in the mindset. In addition the society is deeply divisive and these things take years and years to mould; even more to rectify. If US stops aid, the Pakistan army will unravel, the corruption will increase, flight of whatever little capital remains in Pakistan will accelerate from fear of Pakistan imploding.
Think before you wish because you may get just that what you wish !!
Rand Paul is just throwing a tantrum because his daddy didn't get the Republican nomination for Presidential elections. He is a nobody in the US Senate, so he is not really worth our attention.
@Tony: "USA can harm pak in many ways you know the all international bodies like IMF, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and many more organizations run by USA and it can block pak everywhere." USA couldn't defeat Taliban till now with its coward allied forces having most modern weapons and war techniques and it will harm Pakistan????? Very funny words used by you.....
@the Skunk: @Tony: For your kind information please keep it in your minds firmly and strongly and never forget that Allah Almighty is with us and we didn't forget Allah Almighty.Allah Almighty is good enough for us........
@ahmer: You are cerebrating right about it according to your mindset and this is not you fault because corrupt,beggars,slaves and conscienceless Pakistani leaders have made Pakistan much more US-aid dependent and this is why achieving the goal of sovereignty is seeming impossible without US' aid.After closing/stopping US' Pakistan shall face economical and financial difficulties and problems but these economical and financial difficulties shall be temporary and shall make Pakistan economically and financially strong,stable and sovereign country after few years without US' interference in any means and manifestations and shall be proven fruitful and advantageous for every Pakistan because in the doubtless Holy Quran Allah Almighty in Sura Alam Nashrah that "there is easiness after every difficulty and there is difficulty after every easiness"
why dont the senetor brings a bill in senate to punish assesin of two innocent pakistiens ramond devis, over awarding 68 years sentence to a helpless lady afia, afiridi voilated the law of land by suporting a foreign agency therefore he is guilty of treson he should be hanged in his country bcz such people are traitors. i guess senetor is being emotional over the issue of afridi he is safe in jail othewise someone would kill him if he is out of jail. he himself has stated that he is safe in jail.
well that is inevitable if you say that you are against the terrorism and then on the back you support and fund terrorists this doesnt work in the rest of the world but only in pakistan. Paksitan should make it clear that they dont wont terrorism and if they want such system it should be implemented not only for PAkhtoons in afghansitan and PAksitan tribal areas but also for punjabis and sindhis as well.. world has now realised that pak is playing double so pak should be serious now its a global village and finished the terrorism and militants
LOL. All the anti American blather over comments by one US Senator. I suspect that when aid stops there will be plenty of Pakistani's who regret that they got their wish. When aid stops do the chest thumpers think the USA loses it's ability to coerce Pakistan or has it dawned on you that the other forms of coercion (cutting off trade, threats of sanctions etc) are even more dramatic.
What will happen now is that the government will increase the aid amount instead of curtailing it.
Because, the The average American is a fool. If he is intelligent, he would have learnt this long back.
Dear Senator lets be frank what you want to say stop bribing pakisatni ruling elite. You don't give us aid what you do is bribe the ruling elite. So lets not act like holier then thou frankly speaking we would rather you stop the bribe, seeing your economic condition I seriously hope you use that money to pay down your debt.
Why doesn't he worry about Bradley Manning being tortured even before his trial before he worries about other countries punishing people for running fraudulent vaccination schemes.
Everyone here wants no aid. Fair enough. The real question I ask you all is why are you accepting it. What is stopping you? Establishment is collecting aid and defence materials from USA. Let them buy with their own money.
US aid is not helping ordinary Pakistanis. This aid has made our leaders as beggars. Please stop our aid and leave us alone. After stopping this aid, Pakistanis will work hard and earn much more money than this aid.
Pakistan also helped Usa to defeat Russia before, what Usa is doing with Pakistan now ??? blame games and drone attacks on civil peoples Block the aid means block the Nato supply again.....
@p r sharma: The US will leave Afghanistan through Iran through Charbahar. All USA will do is to employ a private Indian / Russian transport contractor who in turn will employ Iranian / Afghan drivers. This is quite a possibility.
@KY totally agree!!
And to the senator, please do it asap. We cant wait to get rid of ur aid and move away from the war.
Sick and tired of Americans
ooh Please make our day by stopping the AID to Pakistan, at last it will help us to stand on our feet ....
Plus, I do not believe a word of Afridi's interview .... its all crap
@Fahad: @Political Analyst: @naeem hussain: @M.Ahmer Ali:
Well said gentlemen. The USA assigned the 'terrorist' smudge to Haqqanis. Little do they realize that this time around the route to Afghanistan can be stopped altogether.
Frankly, the sooner they stop all aid and also that coming from WB, IMF, ADB, the better off and happier we will be. In addition, that aid can be given to 44 million Americans living belo
The best way to deal with this traitor, Dr. Afridi, is to release him from jail as any other ordinary person on a pre-announced date. Taliban will take care of the rest.
Man, you guys have short memories.
Remember the Supply Routes episode earlier this year? Supplies were stopped and the NATO in Afghanistan got it from Northern Distribution Network. Yes, they spent more for that, but they went on with their job.
Pakistan was isolated and accepted US's expression of regret, simply rephrased from earlier issued regret statement.
Now, we do not see Pakistani leaders threatening closure of supply routes. That myth was busted and NATO went on without a hitch for 6 months!
After 2014, even cost will not matter. Americans will not hesitate to sanction. I think the severity will be on the lines of sanctions placed on Iran.
So USA is force feeding Pakistan with aid. What will they think of next?
@M.Ahmer Ali: This is not a simple case of aid that if USA will stop the aid then pak will not survive but USA can harm pak in many ways you know the all international bodies like IMF, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and many more organizations run by USA and it can block pak everywhere. So it is not simple as we thought.
Try dr Afridi for fake vaccination And give him medal for Osama
And all Pakistanis in the USA should come home as a mark of protest.
We all cheered and celeberated the official confirmation of Osama death, although all reliable sources indicated that his sorry life end way back in 2002 in ToraBora. But Shakeel Afridi being a Pakistani national has committed treason and whether you like it or not Mr. Redneck Senator, we will charge him, try him and then hang him to death. As far as Aid is considered, i really think that we will be better off without it as the because of ur so called War on Terror, unlike the rest of Asia we lost the last decade and missed out on a great economic growth opportunity. Given the improvement in relationships with India and hopefully the end in War of Terror we will be able to stand on our own without any help from outside.
If private Manning is a TRAITOR for telling the truth in USA. This Dr. Afridi is surely a traitor for aiding the CIA.
Please do stop the aid....... you will do a huge favor to the hapless people of this country because your aid is helping the military and political elite continue their exploitation.
Shakil Afridi is a traitor and should be trialed for carrying out acts against the law of the land no matter how he helped the world to get the most wanted man.
it is our humble request to you stop our aid,,,,we really dont need your aid......
despite this letter no curtailment in the aid from US government as she definitely needs the cooperation of Pakistan till 2014. Situation may be change when the purpose of the US gets accomplished may be partially. so long there is no worry. . But the real problem will be on the economic front if the he economic growth of Pakistan does not improve and the foreign exchange gets diminished over the next few years there will be pressure for debt repayment .the govt , has to create the atmosphere friendly for the overseas investors to help boost the economic growth.
We are in the wrong when it comes to Dr. Afridi. He should be released or at least given a proper trial for jeopardizing public health.
Do it ASAP, this will be a real gesture by USA to Pakistanis.
I use to have lot of respect for the government of US but not anymore. Here I'm not refering to the US people To me the way they behave with other nations is no better than a third world dictator. Look at the turmoil and killers they have left behind in Iraq and Afghanistan it does not behove a great nation like US which played its role in the past as a great statesman and contributed positively in all walks of life. Like me there are hundreds of millions if not billions of non US citizen who marvel at the leadership that US had shown, led and delivered at all levels both nationally and internationally. But in the last two decade or so the US politicians led by various US think-tanks cooperated with other brute world leaders in the name of US citizen and have committed grave crimes which are not in the knowledge of its citizen. The aftermath of 9/11 and under the garb of war on terror the US has bled to near bankruptcy and the turmoil she has created in the rest of the world is case in point. I fail to comprehend that there has not been a serious non partisian commissions to look into the role of various US agencies and the people who played its evil part which has brought the US to near bankruptcy. The US and European financial crises are both interlinked and it can be pinned to the wrong US foreign policies. I don't want to go into the history of it but one can see the loss of reputation for Mr. Blair, the collabrator, labelled as a great Eurpoean premier of modern europe. Alas he in on the run by allying Britian with the wrong US policies. My advice to the US people is to wake up and judge for yourself how the rest of the world views them now and how it use two decades ago. Its never too late.
Why can't Pakistani senators standup for Dr Affia Sidique.
a big slap.
Now, this is getting interesting!!!!!
Go for it dude ... you will be doing Pakistan a Big favor ...
And we fight the WAR the US started. We are called "blatantly defiant", I ask all Pakistanis who have any semblance of self respect to pressurise our Govt to withdraw from the US war and let them fight it and then see what happens, they have already destroyed us by instigating our own people against us in different parts of the country what more can they do. I pray to Allah that soon thee US shall fall.
Yes! and we shouldn't clearly be part of this war and your ally! U keep the aid mate! try winning without us : )
Every Pakistani should read the letter written by him. It shows how much Pakistan is annoying US parliamentarians. It is not good for Pakistan in long run. ALSO THE LETTER IS 100% TRUE
Do it America and leave Pakistan alone. You can not breath with out Pakistan help remember that.
I am happy Osama bin Laden is gone, but this man does not understand why Pakistan is bitter over the operation! You think a 'fake vaccination scheme' would have been allowed in the US!? Double standards.. double standards.
But the operation threatened Pakistan's sovereignty!! Right..?
You are always most welcome to do so.Please hurry up and without wasting any more time stop Pakistan's aid on top priority basis as soon as possible so that Pakistan could stand on its own feet to get real,true,interference-free and uninterrupted sovereignty.......
Look who feels the pain!!!