Washington, June 14 (ANI): U.S. Senator Paul Rand has been blocked from attaching an amendment to the farm bill that would withhold U.S. aid to Pakistan.
The amendment would have stopped U.S. aid to Pakistan until the country frees Dr Shakil Afridi, who was sentenced to 33 years of imprisonment after he was found 'guilty' of helping the CIA track down Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, reports The Dawn.
In a difficult and volatile climate against Pakistan in the US Congress, getting worse each day with the NATO supply lines lying closed, this was seen as a very challenging task for the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, states the paper.
Pakistani ambassador Sherry Rehman was seen on the Capitol Hill all week, lobbying non-stop with U.S. senators and staffers, to block the amendment.
Rehman and her senior colleagues were seen thanking all those who assisted behind-the-scenes in getting this important amendment blocked.
A Senate staffer said after July, when the election campaign goes into full gear, many more such amendments are expected, and will be practically impossible to block or defeat once they get tacked on to foreign assistance clauses. (ANI)
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