Former US Envoy: It's time to end Pakistan's double game

Representational PictureA former top American diplomat iquest who served as the US envoy to Afghanistan Iraq and the UN today suggested a series of steps against Pakistan including slapping sanctions against the spy agency ISI and unilateral strikes inside its territory to end Islamabads double game Afghanborn Zalmay Khalilzad who has emerged as one of the vocal critic of Pakistan and has accused it of being a state sponsor of terrorism made the remarks ahead of the announcement of White House actions to pressurise PakistanIn an oped in National Interest magazine he recommended taking a series of steps against Pakistan to end its double game including slapping sanctions against ISI and individuals who are involved in supporting insurgents and terrorists and undertake unilateral strikes inside Pakistani territory Prepare to designate Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism unless it changes course and abandons support for terrorists Such a designation will impose ongoing restrictions to assistance bans on defense exports and sales limitations on exports of dual use items and other financial restrictions Khalilzad saidThe former diplomat who hosted Trump as the candidate for his first major foreign policy speech called for suspension of economic assistance to Pakistan holding Pakistan accountable before regional and international organizations in association with India and Afghanistan He also suggested reaching out to the people of Pakistan and document its support for terrorists and extremistsPatience positive incentives and occasional feeble pressure have not induced Pakistan to end its double game Yet success against terrorism and extremism in Afghanistan and the region requires a change in Pakistans policy of support for such groups he said To bring about such a change the time has come to embrace a strategy that dramatically increase the cost to Pakistan of its current approach Khalilzad saidA day earlier the White House had said it would announce specific actions against Pakistan this week to force it to crackdown on terrorists on its soil reflecting president Donald Trumps tough stance against over the issue The remarks by White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders came after Trump accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the US but lies and deceit and providing safe haven to terrorists in return for 33 billion aid over the last 15 yearsThe contentreporting displayed on our website wwwmiddaycom is provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE by us from third party agencies sources without any verification from our side It may contain error bugs and other limitations The readers can rely on the content at their own will Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability data text images video messages or any other material whatsoever or for any claimslossaction that the reader may suffer as a result of relying on the content on our site Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeverCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the goTrending videos