Bill in US Congress on Pakistan reflects concerns on terrorism: India

India on Thursday said the a bill introduced in the US Congress describing Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism was an acknowledgment of Islamabad being the "epicentre of terrorism", and exuded confidence of the bill being treated with utmost seriousness.

"You will appreciate that it reflects the acknowledgment in the US Congress that a country to which the United States had channelled so much aid, is actually the epicenter of terrorism which has also targeted Americans and American interests," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in reply to a question at a media briefing here on Thursday.

"The US Congress has also blocked $300 million aid to Pakistan under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) due to Pakistan's insufficient action against the dreaded Haqqani network. Earlier, the US Congress had also objected to the sale of F-16s to Pakistan.

"The present bill has been introduced by two of the senior most and highly respected members of the Congress and I am sure it will be treated with utmost seriousness," added Swarup.

Congressman Ted Poe (Republican), the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, along with Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (Republican) on Tuesday introduced the Pakistan State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation Act.

The bill was introduced after the Sunday's cross-border terror attack on an army base at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir in which 18 Indian soldiers lost their lives.

India has blamed the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist group for the early morning attack on the sleeping soldiers. All the four attackers were killed.

--IANS

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