The Bill was introduced by Andy Biggs, a Congressman who is a member of the Republican Hindu Caucus. What exactly does the Bill say? How does a 'Major Non-NATO Ally' designation help a country? We explain
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Andy Biggs belongs to the conservative faction of the Republican Party, and was among the leaders subpoenaed by the House select committee investigating the Capitol Hill riots. (Twitter/@Andybiggs)
A US Congressman has recently moved a Bill in the House of Representatives to revoke Pakistan’s designation as a Major Non-NATO Ally. The Bill says that for the country to keep the status, the US President must submit a certification to the Congress that Islamabad has met certain conditions.
The Bill, HR 80, was introduced by Andy Biggs, a Republican who represents the fifth Congressional district of Arizona. Before it can turn into a law with a signature from the President, the Bill has to be passed by the House and the Senate. For now, it has been sent to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
What exactly does the Bill say? How does having a ‘Major Non-NATO Ally’ of the US designation help a country? Who is Andy Biggs, member of the Republican Hindu Caucus? We explain
What the Bill says
The Bill says that Pakistan should be demoted from the major non-NATO ally status till the US President can submit a certification that it has met certain conditions
The conditions listed are: “Pakistan continues to conduct military operations that are contributing to significantly disrupting the safe haven and freedom of movement of the Haqqani Network in Pakistan; Pakistan has taken steps to demonstrate its commitment to prevent the Haqqani Network from using any Pakistani territory as a safe haven; the Government of Pakistan actively coordinates with the Government of Afghanistan to restrict the movement of militants, such as the Haqqani Network, along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border; and Pakistan has shown progress in arresting and prosecuting Haqqani Network senior leaders and mid-level operatives.
The Haqqani network is a terrorist group whose leadership is based in Pakistan, though it operates majorly in Afghanistan. The network came into being during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s and was armed and funded by the US and Pakistan to fight the Russians. After 9/11, Haqqani turned against the US. US officials have long considered the Haqqani leadership to be among the closest proxies for Pakistan’s ISI.
Major Non-NATO Ally status
Designation as MNNA entitles a country to some military and economic privileges. According to the US Department of State website, “Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status is a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation… While MNNA status provides military and economic privileges, it does not entail any security commitments to the designated country
Who is Andy Biggs?
Biggs belongs to the conservative faction of the Republican Party, and was among the leaders subpoenaed by the House select committee investigating the Capitol Hill riots. Biggs was alleged to have been involved in plans to bring protestors to Washington, and for trying to persuade Arizona state officials that the 2020 election was “stolen.
Many Republicans have said that Joe Biden unseated Donald Trump in the last Presidential elections through unfair means, claims that have been debunked. Arizona was among the states the Democrats flipped in 2020.
A retired attorney, Biggs, before being elected to Congress, had served in the Arizona Legislature for 14 years. He is former chairman of the Freedom Caucus, considered to be the most conservative, far-right caucus of the Republican
Party in the US House of Representatives, and was among the lawmakers who recently disrupted fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy’s Speaker bid.
Biggs is also a member of the Republican Hindu Caucus, founded under the aegis of the Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC). The RHC, founded by industrialist Shalabh Kumar, seeks to “provide a single unified platform to build a strong, effective & respected Hindu-American voice in Washington and across the country”, according to its website, and supports Trump and the Republicans. In October 2022, Trump gave a Diwali speech organised by the RHC at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where he said he would nominate Shalabh Kumar as the Ambassador to India if was elected as President again in 2024.
The Bill was introduced by Andy Biggs, a Congressman who is a member of the Republican Hindu Caucus. What exactly does the Bill say? How does a 'Major Non-NATO Ally' designation help a country? We explain.
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