The new year was bad for Pakistan as after six decades a US President singled out the country for " lies and deceit." It was something Pakistan never expected, as it has been mollycoddled by America as a frontline state against terrorism. All along the Pak military and civil establishment were hunting with the hound and running with the hare as they propped up the Haqqani faction of the Taliban that has killed hundreds of US soldiers.

Now Senator Rand Paul has announced he will bring forth a bill to stop all aid to Pakistan as the country has not played ball with the US.

Rand has added that all aid to Muslim countries that burn the American flag and help kill US soldiers must be penalised. President Trump has agreed with the opinion of Rand Paul as reported by the Times of India.

Paul Rand

The Senator has a point; the Pak military establishment gave a safe haven to Osama Bin Laden and many other Taliban leaders and never kept the USA informed. Worse still after the US raid killed the dreaded terrorist, the man involved in helping the US track Osama is still incarcerated in jail. The Senator has tweeted that he will be introducing a bill in the Senate to stop all aid to Pakistan and use the money for an infrastructure fund to build roads and bridges in America.

All military assistance to Pakistan has now been frozen by Trump.

Pakistan's dubious approach

Pakistan has been a member of military pacts launched by President Eisenhower to contain communist Russia and China. since 1954. But it had no intention of opposing the communist giants and used the aid and weapons instead to fight India.

It lost and in 1971 despite the support of President Nixon failed to stop the creation of a Bengali speaking Muslim state in its Eastern wing.

With the defeat of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Pakistan embarked on a dubious plan to try and undermine the regime friendly to the USA with a faction of a Taliban, which was pro-Pakistan.

This was done discreetly and the Taliban faction supported by Pakistan was involved in massive killings of Afghan and US troops. Trump has now set the record straight by naming Pakistan as a deceitful state that took 33 billion dollars in aid from the USA for nothing in return.

Last word

Trump is the first president to have realised the gravity of the situation and doubtless, his policy will have some effect. The BBC has stated that Trump cannot be faulted for stating an obvious fact which somehow earlier presidents were reluctant to recognise publicly.