ISI continues to support LeT, says US Congressmen

"The fact remains that Pakistani and US strategic interests diverge on certain issues -- especially those concerning Islamist terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, which the Pakistani ISI continues to view as a strategic asset vis-a-vis India," said Congressman Steve Chabot.

Chabot, the Chairman of the Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, had convened a hearing on US foreign policy in South Asia.

"Years of Pakistani mistrust of the US has resulted in a relationship in which cooperation on certain issues is often accompanied by obstruction on others," he said.

Chabot said despite improved cooperation with certain elements of the Pakistani government, the positive benefits of Kerry-Lugar-Berman have not yet spilled over into other arenas such as security in any meaningful way.

Kerry-Lugar-Berman bill triples non-military US aid to Pakistan to USD 7.5 billion over the next five years

"How then does the administration plan to address these critical issues that continue to wrap our entire policy in the region? I would hope that as a strategic partner, Pakistan would not merely cooperate with us when it suits their immediate interests," Chabot asked.

Another top democrat on the panel, Gary Ackerman, also doubted ISI's intentions and said, "The ISI is cooperating with us; the ISI is cooperating with them. The Afghan national security forces are always being trained and always melting away," he said.

"I doubt the ISI will ever stop working with us during the day and going to see their not-so-secret friends in the Lashkar-e-Taiba or Jaish-e Mohammed and other terrorist groups at night," he added.