US to name Pakistan a terrorist state?

New Delhi, Dec 7: According to a new report in Times of India, US intelligence department is re-examining its old proposal to declare Pakistan as a 'terrorist state'. It is learnt that the US officials are researching Pak's contribution to the war on terror, the ISI's dominant role in the country and its ties with the so called terrorist outfits, at the behest of the Bush administration.

Media reports suggest that a decision to declare Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism, is being left to the new government under Barack Obama as the Bush administration have only six weeks left in office. Reports claim that the Bush administration is convinced of the Pakistan army and its intelligence wing ISI's continuing toxic policies.

Pakistan came close to being named a state sponsor of terrorism in 1992 when then US Secretary of State James Baker charged then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of supporting terrorism in Jammu Kashmir. The then US envoy in Islamabad Nicholas Platt conveyed to Sharif that "We (US) are very confident of our information that your intelligence service, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, and elements of the Army are supporting Kashmiri and Sikh militants who carry out acts of terrorism.