Washington: Two top US Senators have warned Islamabad that any proven terror attack against America or Europe in future would invite 'very serious' consequences.
After their respective visits from Pakistan and Afghanistan, Democratic Senators Carl Levin and Jack Reed demanded that both Haqqani network and Pakistani Taliban should be declared as foreign terrorist bodies.
"These fighting elements continue to cross the border and flip damage upon Afghani and American forces and the government of Pakistan has to do a much more effective job of controlling these groups within their own country," Senator Reed said.
"They also have to recognise that any attack in the United States or in Europe that can be traced back to the Pakistani tribal areas or elsewhere would invite very serious consequences," he said.
The two Senators' remarks come months after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a similar statement, warning Pakistan of consequences if any terrorist attack on the US is traced back to that country.
"There is no excuse for those groups not to be on the list of foreign terrorists. It's long overdue, and both the Taliban and the Haqqani network in Pakistan should be added to that list to reflect the seriousness that we give to their presence in Pakistan, unmolested by the Pakistanis, even though their locations are known, the headquarters are known to the Pakistan government," Levin said.
"There have been attacks against certain targets in Pakistan, which are threatening to the United States and to the Pakistanis. There have been drone attacks. I don't see reasons why those headquarters should not be on the list of potential targets," Levin said when asked about attacking those targets inside Pakistan.
Noting that these terrorist groups use Pakistan as a safe haven and as staging area for attacks into Afghanistan, Levin said: "I, too, give the Pakistan government and the Afghan army some credit for what they did in the Swat valley and in other places in taking on some terrorist individuals and groups."
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