Poe Responds To State Department Terrorism Report

According to the State Department’s 2015 Country Reports on terrorism released on Thursday, Pakistan “did not take substantial action against the Afghan Taliban or HQN [Haqqani Network]” and has done little to deter home-grown jihadist groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. That is why I recently authored an amendment to the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act that responds to Pakistan’s questionable relationship with the Taliban and Haqqani network terrorists by adding a condition on U.S. aid to Pakistan.

The new condition requires the administration to certify that Pakistan has shown progress in arresting and prosecuting Haqqani Network senior leaders and mid-level operatives. The choice: either actually go after the Haqqani network once and for all or lose hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid. Give Pakistan an ultimatum—you are either with us or you are with the terrorists. Islamabad can no longer collect U.S. aid while using the Haqqani network as a ‘veritable arm of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Agency.