Cutting off aid to Pakistan would not be a good move: Kerry

Facing criticism over providing aid to Pakistan, US Secretary of State John Kerry has categorically ruled out against any move to cut off aid to Islamabad.

“Well, you know the old saying, about cutting-off your nose to spite your face. Cutting off aid to Pakistan would not be a good move, certainly, at this point in time, for a lot of different reasons,” Kerry told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee during a Congressional hearing yesterday.

Kerry was responding to a question from Congressman Dana Rohrabacher — who of late has been running a campaign to cut off aid to Pakistan unless the doctor who helped CIA to locate Osama bin Laden is released from prison.

“We are working with Pakistan with respect to nuclear weapons safety and non-proliferation. We are working with Pakistan to get our supplies both in and out of Afghanistan.

Pakistan has lost perhaps 50,000 people in the last years to terror...” Kerry said as he was interrupted by Rohrabacher who brought in the issue of Dr Afridi.

The verbal duel between Kerry and Rohrabacher continued for some time. “They’ve given safe haven — they are the terrorists’ friends, and here we are trying to give them millions of dollars, and they have ended up giving some of our aid to terrorists who are killing us, and the guy who tried to save us is languishing away in a dungeon,” Rohrabacher said as the Secretary of State tried to calm down the situation.

“Shame on us — not you, Mr Secretary — shame on us if we ignore Dr Afridi just languishing away in a dungeon for our benefit..,” Rohrabacher said.

“We’re not — Congressman, we’re not — we’re not ignoring Dr Afridi at all. Believe me, this discussion we have — and it goes on, but it’s just not as simple — it’s just not as simple,” Kerry said.

During the hearing Congressman Brad Sherman urged the Secretary of State for broadcasting the service of the Voice of America in Sindhi language.

“There’s probably no more important country than Pakistan and nothing more important than our public outreach to the Pakistani people, yet we’re broadcasting only in Urdu. This committee voted overwhelmingly that we should spend a million and a half dollars broadcasting in the Sindhi language,” he said.

“I hope that the Voice of America will broadcast in the several major languages of Pakistan, even though there are elements of the Pakistani Government who have a phobia for any — the use of any language other than Urdu,” Sherman said.

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