Dubbing Pakistan a “duplicitous partner” with ties to an anti-American militant group, top US Senator Bob Corker has made it clear that he would block the Obama administration’s proposed sale of eight new F-16 jets to Islamabad.
Corker, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has written to Secretary of State John Kerry listing his concerns over Pakistan continuing to provide a safe haven to leaders of the Haqqani network that has been attacking US-trained security forces in Afghanistan, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
In his letter, Corker is said to have spoken about Pakistan’s “immensely problematic” activities, contributing to the impression that it is a “duplicitous partner, moving sideways rather than forward in resolving regional challenges”.
Republican Corker, who sent the letter on Tuesday after his recent visit to Afghanistan, has been quoted by WSJ as saying in an interview that he does not want US taxpayer dollars going to support Pakistan’s F-16 acquisitions.
“While we’re spending tremendous amounts of US dollars and certainly tremendous sacrifice in our men and women in uniform and by other agencies, they (Pakistan) are working simultaneously to destabilize Afghanistan,” Corker commented.