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US lawmakers introduce bill to designate Pak a terrorist state From Lalit K Jha Washington, Sep 21 (PTI) Two powerful American lawmakershave introduced a bill in the US House of Representatives todesignate Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism, saying it wastime the US stopped paying the country for its "betrayal". The ‘Pakistan State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation Act(HR 6069) has been moved by Republican Ted Poe and DemocratDana Rohrabacher, who is a ranking member of the influentialCongressional Committee on Terrorism. "It is time we stopped paying Pakistan for its betrayaland designate it for what it is: a state sponsor ofterrorism," said Poe, chairman of the House Subcommittee onTerrorism. "Not only is Pakistan an untrustworthy ally, Islamabad hasalso aided and abetted enemies of the US for years," Poe said. "From harbouring Osama bin Laden to its cozy relationshipwith the Haqqani network, there is more than enough evidenceto determine whose side Pakistan is on in the War on Terror.And it’s not America’s," he alleged. Poe said the bill will require the Obama administration toformally answer this question. The president must issue a report within 90 days ofpassage detailing whether or not Pakistan has provided supportfor international terrorism, he said. "Thirty days after that, the secretary of state (JohnKerry) must issue a follow-up report containing either adetermination that Pakistan is a state sponsor of terrorism ora detailed justification as to why Pakistan does not meet thelegal criteria for designation," Poe said. In a separate statement, Congressman Pete Olson supportedevery effort to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Uriterrorist attack by Pakistan-backed terrorists. "I strongly condemn this terrorist attack on an Indianarmy base in Kashmir that resulted in the death of 18 Indiansoldiers. India is a strong partner and ally in peace," hesaid, adding "I support every effort to find out who committedthis heinous act, so that the perpetrators are brought tojustice." Senator John Cornyn, co-chair of the Senate-India Caucus,tweeted a story which said the Indian Army had suffered itsbiggest setback in a decade. Indian-Americans continued to rally behind the call fordesignating Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism. "Pakistan has been pursuing for almost 30 years the statesponsored terrorism as its strategic policy to further itssinister designs across its borders. In the process, Pakistanbecame a cradle and epicenter of global terrorism. At presentit is totally isolated in the global community and turninginto a rogue state," said Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP)-USA. "OFBJP-USA believes that the attack at Indian Army in Uriby Pakistanis should not be termed as another incident ofterrorism by infiltrators, but it should be considered as anact of war by Pakistan against India. And India must respondto teach a befitting lesson to Pakistan," it said. PTI LKJ MRJABH