US must scare Pak to stop it from supporting terrorism: Report

ISLAMABAD: The US should scare Pakistan by keeping the option open for declaring it as a state sponsor of terrorism, top US think-tanks have recommended to the Trump administration, saying inducements alone cannot change Islamabad's current policies towards terrorism.

The think tanks in a report said that designating Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism is unwise in the first year of a new administration, but should be kept as an option for the longer term.

The report advises the Trump administration to "state up front that it intends to review the intelligence on Pakistani involvement in supporting terror much more critically than its predecessors", Dawn newspaper said.

They recommended the Trump use the policy of scaring Pakistan.

The report argues that US engagement with Pakistan must be based on a realistic appraisal of the country's policies, aspirations and worldview.

"The US must stop chasing the mirage of securing change in Pakistan's strategic direction by giving it additional aid or military equipment. It must be acknowledged that Pakistan is unlikely to change its current policies through inducements alone," the report said.

The working group, which compiled the report, wants the United States to recognise that its efforts over several decades to strengthen Pakistan militarily have only "encouraged those elements in Pakistan that hope someday to wrest Kashmir from India through force".

The report asked the Trump administration to "avoid viewing and portraying Pakistan as an ally and deal with it as a non-ally, which has engaged in supporting the Afghan Taliban."

The experts who compiled the report also want the Trump administration to work with China and Gulf Arab states to persuade Pakistan to stop tolerating terrorist groups and individuals.

Scholars and experts from Asian Studies Centre, The Heritage Foundation; Georgetown University; National Defence University, New America; Hudson Institute; Brookings Institution; Centre for Strategic and International Studies and the Middle East Institute jointly compiled this report that includes recommendations for the Trump administration.