Designate Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism: US Congressman Scott Perry

A senior US Congressman has moved a bill in the House of Representatives demanding Pakistan be designated as a state sponsor of terrorism, according to media reports on Friday.

The bill titled “Stopping Pakistani Terror Act” was moved by Scott Perry, a Republican Congressman from Pennsylvania has now been referred to the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported from Washington.

If passed, it could invite a raft of sanctions, which include restrictions on foreign assistance, a ban on defence exports and control over the export of dual-use items, the report said.

The proposed sanctions include restrictions on foreign assistance; a ban on defence exports and sales; certain controls over the export of dual-use items; and miscellaneous financial and other restrictions, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

“Effective on the date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan shall be deemed to be a country the government of which the [US] Secretary of State determines has repeatedly provided support for international terrorism..,” according to the bill.

The US government will be prohibited to export or “otherwise providing (by sale, lease or loan, grant, or other means), directly or indirectly, any munitions item” to a country subjected to the sanctions mentioned in the bill.

Till date, only four countries have been designated sponsors of terrorism. These include Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Syria.

Perry's move came a day after he and two other American lawmakers had called for an investigation into allegations that Masood Khan, who was confirmed Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US, had links with terror outfits.

On March 9, Scott along with Gregory Steube and Mary E. Miller wrote to US Attorney General Merrick Garland, claiming that Ambassador Masood Khan had a close relationship with “domestic actors linked with the Pakistani regime remains a critical concern.”

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