Pakistan is America's ugliest ally, says US lawmaker

A top U.S. lawmaker has described Pakistan as America's ugliest ally, as on the one hand, Islamabad proclaims to be a friend of Washington, but on the other, backs terrorists and terrorism.

In an opinion piece titled 'Pakistan's Long History of Duplicity' that has been published in the Washington Times, Senator Ted Poe, a Republican who represents Texas's 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, said Pakistan must be held accountable for continuously working against the interests of the United States.

He said there are three kinds of allies that the United States has -- the 'good', the 'bad' and the 'ugly'.

Poe said the good allies are the ones who share common interests and values with America. The bad ones are those who often sponsor terrorism, undermine America's goals, and flaunt their disdain of the United States, and the ugly are countries like Pakistan who take billions of dollars in aid from the United States and simultaneously back the terrorists responsible for killing Americans worldwide.

He describes countries like Pakistan historically as a "Benedict Arnold". Benedict Arnold was a general during the American Revolutionary War of the 1770's who originally fought for the American Continental Army, but later defected to the British Army.

"The Benedict Arnold of states that say they are our friends, take billions in U.S. aid, then back the very terrorists that are killing Americans. The ugliest of the bunch is Pakistan," writes Poe in his article for the Washington Times.

"The U.S. has been reluctant to cut ties or meaningfully confront Pakistan over its treachery because the supply line that keeps the coalition fed and equipped in Afghanistan runs through Pakistan."

"However, this key link does not come free and has even been severed by Pakistan on multiple occasions after violent incidents between their forces and our own," alleges Poe.

Poe, who is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and serves as chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-Proliferation and Trade, further said, "Pakistan has a long duplicitous relationship with the U.S. Throughout most of the Cold War, America and Pakistan worked closely to contain Soviet advances in South Asia. This working relationship peaked in the 1980's when the CIA and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, partnered to bleed the Soviet Union in Afghanistan by providing covert assistance to the Afghan anti-communist rebels."

"But even as the U.S. bolstered Pakistan's own defences, Islamabad was covertly developing a nuclear weapons program that it would later use to proliferate nuclear technology to Libya, North Korea and Iran - the who's who of bad actors," he added.

Referring to Pakistan's backing of militants in Afghanistan, The U.S. Congressman said that Islamabad continued to back militants in the country, and this had given rise to the Taliban and al Qaeda

"In this jihadi paradise cultivated by Pakistan, al Qaeda was able to take shape and plan its war on the United States," he said.

Poe added, "it was clear Pakistan had been playing U.S. for fools".

-ANI