Senator demands 'reappraisal' of military assistance to Pak

"It is all well known that while there are terrorists operating loosely in Pakistan who attack Afghans and Americans, it is the Haqqani Network that enjoys the official support and backing of the intelligence service of Pakistan," said Senator Mark Kirk.

"Given this new information, and especially given the statement by US Ambassador in Afghanistan Ryan Crocker and now our Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta, the Senate should engage in an agonizing reappraisal of military assistance to Pakistan. We should base our reappraisal on the statements of our own Ambassador in Kabul and the Secretary of Defense himself," he said in his speech on the Senate Floor yesterday.

Kirk, who recently served in Afghanistan for two weeks as Naval Reserve Intelligence Commander, said it is not al-Qaeda, which is armed and dangerous, but a shadow of its former shadow.

"It is not Taliban, which is still extremely armed and dangerous. It is a new group called the Haqqani Network," he said.

"Recently, there was a high-profile attack on the Afghan Government and ISAF headquarters in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. The US Ambassador two days ago then announced this was the work of the Haqqani Network. That is a very important factoid.

Then yesterday, the Secretary of Defense also highlighted the Haqqani and pointed a direct finger at the Government of Pakistan and its intelligence service, the ISI," Kirk said.

In a speech in Chicago on September 6 following his return from Afghanistan, Kirk had alleged that the Haqqani network had relationship with the establishments in Pakistan.

"The new face of terror is called the Haqqani network. Built around its founder, Mawlawi Jalaluddin Haqqani, and his son, Siraj Haqqani, it has become the most dangerous, lethal and cancerous force in Afghanistan," he said.

"As much as the Pakistani officials claim otherwise, the Haqqanis are backed and protected by Pakistan's own intelligence service. Statements by Pakistani government officials to the contrary are direct lies," Senator Kirk said.

"The Haqqani network kills Americans, attacks the elected government of Afghanistan and remains protected in its Pakistani headquarters of Miriam Shah. Without that Pakistani safe haven, it would suffer the same fate as al-Qaeda. Afghan and US Special Operations teams take out many Taliban commanders and operators each night but numerous key Haqqani leaders spend all day planning attacks on Americans in Afghanistan -- then sleep soundly in their beds in Pakistan," Kirk said.

"In such an environment, and with our deficits and debt, aid to Pakistan seems naive at best and counter-productive at worst. I am seriously reconsidering and rethinking how well aid to Pakistan served us," Kirk said in his speech in Chicago early this month.

"Afghans are most victimized by their neighbours, the Pakistanis. I first served as a reservist in Afghanistan in 2008. I believed that Pakistan was complicated, that we have many interests there and that we must advance diplomatically. I no longer agree with that," he said.

"Pakistan has become the main threat to Afghanistan. Pakistan's intelligence service is the biggest danger to the Afghan government. It is also a tremendous threat to the lives of American troops. Let me be clear: many Americans died in Afghanistan because of Pakistan's ISI," Kirk said.