US: Resolution to suspend aid to Pak introduced

The US House of Representatives has introduced a resolution calling on President George Bush to suspend all military assistance and all sales and transfers of military equipment to Pakistan in protest against President Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency.

The resolution was introduced on Thursday by Congressional panel on the Middle East and South Asia Chairman Gary Ackerman, a senior Democrat.

Ackerman said the Bush Administration had, for too long, relied on one man to achieve the US anti-terrorism objectives in Pakistan. The President (Bush) has ignored democratic development there and turned a blind eye as General Musharraf has manipulated the political process to ensure his continued tenure in office.

Ackerman said, Musharraf had made and broken repeated promises to step down as army chief and to restore democracy. He made deals with Al Qaeda supporters in North and South Waziristan and those deals strengthened our enemies, Ackerman added.

He said officials in Musharraf's government leaked nuclear secrets to Libya, North Korea and Iran. Yet at every turn, the General received a pass from President Bush. Instead of arresting terrorists who pose an existential threat to his regime, if not to the nation, Musharraf is arresting the very people with whom he could have worked to develop the political support necessary to rid Pakistan of extremists.

Ackerman's resolution also calls on Musharraf to reinstate Constitution, release those arrested during his crackdown, allow independent media to re-open, schedule parliamentary elections in January and to step down as army chief.