US Congressman introduces bill to declare Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism

A US Congressman, known for his dislike for Pakistan, introduced a strongly worded bill in Congress to declare “untrustworthy ally” Pakistan a “state sponsor of terrorism”, media reports said.

“Not only is Pakistan an untrustworthy ally, Islamabad has also aided and abetted enemies of the United States for years,” said Congressman Ted Poe, who is the Chair of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism.
“From harbouring Osama bin Laden to its cozy relationship with the Haqqani Network, there is more than enough evidence to determine whose side Pakistan is on in the war on terror. And it’s not America’s. It is time we stop paying Pakistan for its betrayal and designate it for what it is: a State Sponsor of Terrorism,” Poe said while introducing the bill, the Pakistan State Sponsor of Terrorism Act of 2015, in Congress on Thursday.
The bill requires the US president to issue a report within 90 days, answering whether Pakistan has provided support for international terrorism. Thirty days after that, the secretary of state is required to submit a follow-up report, which says that Pakistan is a state sponsor of terrorism, or a detailed justification as to why it does not meet the legal criteria for such a designation.
The same bill was presented in the Congress last year when the Obama administration was passing its last days and there was no time to discuss and formally convince Congress why the United States should continue to consider Pakistan an ally in the war against terrorism.