Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Pakistan is a ‘failed state’, says US Congressman

Pakistan is a ‘failed state’, says US Congressman




Tuesday, December 09, 2008
NEW YORK: Condemning the Mumbai carnage, senior US Congressman Frank Pallone has said the terrorists involved in the attack tried to give the impression that they were local Indian Muslims.

“The fact was that they were not. They were not the Muslims in India. They were those Muslims who were trained in Pakistan and came from Pakistan,” the Democratic lawmaker from New Jersey said at a condolence meeting held for the Mumbai terrorist attack victims the other day.

He said the Pakistani government had to play a role in its unorganised territories and make sure that they were not being used to launch another attack by al-Qaeda or the Taliban.

“If not, then the US has to go there itself,” he added.

However, Pallone opposed any attack on Pakistan by India at this point of time. This, he said, would be a big mistake because the terrorists wanted to create conflict and tension in the region.

“So I think, right now, all the governments are trying (to prevent this). In my opinion, let this not be an excuse for another war between India and Pakistan,” he said.

Pallone said that the upcoming Barack Obama administration needed to put a lot of pressure on Pakistan and make it clear that if it wanted to have any kind of relationship or receive assistance from the US, there had to be strings attached.

“The US has sent both the secretary of state as well as military leaders to both India and Pakistan. I know that the new Obama administration and the new Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, want to do whatever they can to shore up India’s security,” he said.

Pallone declared Pakistan a “failed state”, saying Islamabad did not have control over its own territories and its land was being used by terrorists to launch attacks against other nations, including the US and India.

“Pakistan is essentially a failed state. I do not believe the central government controls most of the territory of the country.”

“It is obvious that in the area near Afghanistan, which is used by al-Qaeda and the Taliban as a way to move into Afghanistan and oppose American forces there, there is no control. It is obvious that even though they have outlawed the organisations that were trying to sever Kashmir from India, they continue (to exist). So, the government really has no control,” he said.

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