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Representative Scott Perry asked whether Pakistan should face financial sanctions such as relisting to a Financial Action Task Force gray list; Lisa Curtis said that consideration of such steps is reasonable if investigations definitively link perpetrators to Pakistan‑based groups. Curtis described persistent Pakistani tolerance for groups such as Lashkar‑e‑Taiba and Jaish‑e‑Mohammed and urged Pakistani authorities to detain leaders including Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and Masood Azhar, whom she said were not being imprisoned in Pakistan.

Curtis and other witnesses discussed Pakistan’s “dual policies” — cooperating on certain counterterrorism matters while tolerating or supporting other groups — and urged a calibrated U.S. approach that presses Pakistan to shut down organizations that attack India while preserving cooperation on mutual threats such as ISIS‑K. Committee members debated targeted measures, including sanctions, visa restrictions and asset controls; Curtis cautioned against broad visa restrictions for Pakistani students while endorsing targeted actions against individuals shown to materially support terrorism.

The panel also examined Central Asia’s vulnerabilities. Witnesses said Tajikistan, given cross‑border flows and recruitment challenges, warrants prioritized U.S. engagement. Todd highlighted that China's growing military and security ties in Central Asia risk filling any capability gap left by reduced U.S. engagement.

No formal enforcement actions or votes were taken; members sought clarifications and pledged further oversight.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Assessing Terror Threat Landscape in South & Central Asia & Examining Opportunities for Cooperation","oneSentenceSummary","Committee members pressed witnesses about Pakistani support or tolerance for militant groups implicated in attacks on India, discussed possible consequences including FATF listing and visa or financial measures, and explored the role of Pakistan in countering ISIS‑K while balancing broader U.S. strategic interests.","taxTitle","Foreign Affairs: House Committee, Standing Committees - House & Senate, Congressional Hearings Compilation, Legislative, Federal","taxId",1826,"location","","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6184443,"Experts warn cuts to USAID, USIP and independent broadcasting would undercut counterterrorism efforts in Central and South Asia",1436,1123535,2560335,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5090782-d4ee69cfa4fd7e2e8cadd3ec81744046&start=1123&end=2560","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5090782-d4ee69cfa4fd7e2e8cadd3ec81744046/thumbnail_1123535.jpg","/articles/6184443/Experts-warn-cuts-to-USAID-USIP-and-independent-broadcasting-would-undercut-counterterrorism-efforts-in-Central-and-South-Asia","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6184443-257f24738e979f82475fc8f2d936dfed/orig.mp4?Expires=1773423934&Signature=UoZzflKG9-5608l-jmJESZyshY6sFNFnG0y5jaoiPyQKuLyFFSaoxcSHnGF~l14A4eWHqFu-1f6o4uL2m2srLNu~gP4~W1bE3Gv97DruPxHFfJf6iQP1GWkWh-MwsdBW2byt6OmBNx-W9UZni2U5D0zK2su8Z6YcWGibqsucPZFqCdZe3328rGNqzo9Q~whqRkWwWIrom6eBFIttFQ7X~w2ND-iwVyohBrRuVRFBM54IZ9UNTQsBuzYVhYlfdLzF0535vpwGeI8sg1SsFFFJsmiB8B8-QzLIB8G2QUQdhrBfF4NmgMubxhDwTC8ijR-b2PFNj161UvW23ogYtmysjw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing on South and Central Asia, witnesses raised concerns that proposed or executed U.S. program cuts and institutional changes will weaken long‑term efforts to prevent violent extremism.

Brianna Todd and Lisa Curtis each warned that soft‑power tools—rehabilitation and reintegration programs, online education for Afghan women, scholarships, and independent regional broadcasting—are central to reducing the drivers of radicalization. Todd said programs such as USAID’s Resilient Communities Activity and Employment and Enterprise Development Activity had “produced real results” and that ending them risks leaving a gap others will fill.

Ranking Member Kamlager‑Dove and multiple lawmakers repeatedly asked witnesses to describe the potential impact of dismantling the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) programing, terminating Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFERL) local services such as Radio Ozodi, or moving international broadcasting reporting into other bureaucratic structures. Curtis, who disclosed she serves as board chair of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, said RFERL’s language services and reporting “help to fight extremism in the region” by reporting in local languages and providing investigative coverage of drivers of radicalization.

Witnesses expressed skepticism about the administration’s proposed consolidation of foreign assistance into an “America First Opportunity Fund,” calling it a potential source of funding instability and loss of congressional oversight. Todd described concern that an omnibus, globally competed fund could divert scarce resources away from sustained, regional programs.

Both witnesses urged Congress to sustain targeted education and scholarship programs for Afghan women and to preserve rehabilitation and repatriation work that helps reintegrate foreign fighters’ family members and reduce further radicalization. Lawmakers did not adopt policy on the record; the session recorded testimony and questioning only.","Witnesses told the House subcommittee that dismantling programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace, cutting USAID counter‑extremism work, and restricting Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty threaten rehabilitation, education and information channels used to blunt violent extremist recruitment.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6184448,"Witnesses tell House panel ISIS‑K, Taliban links and regional instability heighten terror risk in South and Central Asia",5201,604365,5806040,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5090782-d4ee69cfa4fd7e2e8cadd3ec81744046&start=604&end=5806","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5090782-d4ee69cfa4fd7e2e8cadd3ec81744046/thumbnail_604365.jpg","/articles/6184448/Witnesses-tell-House-panel-ISISK-Taliban-links-and-regional-instability-heighten-terror-risk-in-South-and-Central-Asia","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6184448-8fb386d5860f04389d5be1494f39eda0/orig.mp4?Expires=1773423934&Signature=Hxc9iTAqTGpYUeUPSvJKNidU8gAMseCyGHtDKehWstHGAkDuE-WgMzLbFePHDQ5ntPLhIWF66fZMi-DAo8c9RZHRGAEpN0SaeiRAn2waxLcoRoa0utvKbBl9XlneORVZqfzAVzSHH0dhypgWQYKI~qvdQnaSrqJR93B~9Sccktejio-klTPoz9Wc5z86FQPZ0YAjTIdz-pamzfy2HcVMXh0tDTNWzNs80gc~Czq8HG~MEFMgqxJBFGre2Eyi3XAXmkHmL6M19kjJ6OJZ~Jpb~b2mGK-uBRYbylrvpot8ExXclt7zxaeJ9nl4XSlCc6a2o8yWphLPWnJcg~AXgH7sSg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Chairman Huizenga convened the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia to hear testimony on the evolving terrorist threat across South and Central Asia and options for renewed U.S. engagement.

The subcommittee heard from Lisa Curtis, senior fellow and director of the Indo‑Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security and a former National Security Council senior director for South and Central Asia, and Brianna Todd, professor of the practice of Central Asian Studies at the National Defense University.

Curtis told the committee that “the Taliban can never be viewed as a counterterrorism partner,” citing continued links between the Taliban and Al Qaeda and UN reporting that Al Qaeda has new training camps inside Afghanistan. Curtis said those developments, together with ISIS‑K’s activity, make Afghanistan “a hotbed for terrorists looking for safe harbor” and argue for targeted U.S. engagement to limit external threats.

Todd described an “inflection point” for Central Asia, where ISIS‑K has increased recruitment and operational reach. She warned that ISIS‑K is exploiting encrypted messaging, cryptocurrency and AI‑generated content to recruit and direct attacks and that political repression, economic opportunity gaps, and migration-driven community fragmentation are creating exploitable grievances.

Both witnesses highlighted cross‑border dynamics. Curtis noted the April attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, and the subsequent India–Pakistan military exchanges that briefly escalated between two nuclear-armed states; she credited U.S. engagement with helping broker a ceasefire. Curtis and Todd also urged differentiated approaches: deeper counterterrorism cooperation with India, calibrated engagement with Pakistan on mutual threats while pressing it to crack down on groups that attack India, and targeted cooperation with Central Asian states such as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to blunt recruitment and transit.

Committee members emphasized tools beyond kinetic measures. Ranking Member Kamlager‑Dove said counterterrorism “is not a Republican or a Democratic issue,” and described programs addressing root causes — education, development and public diplomacy — as central to long‑term prevention. Witnesses warned that recent policy choices and proposed budget cuts risk removing many of those tools.

The hearing also considered great‑power influence in the region. Todd flagged China’s growing security cooperation with Central Asian states and warned that, absent sustained U.S. engagement, partners may turn to Beijing or Moscow for capacity building.

The session was discussion and testimony only; no formal votes or committee decisions were recorded.

Looking ahead, witnesses recommended a multi‑dimensional U.S. strategy combining intelligence and security cooperation, targeted development and educational assistance, exchange and scholarship programs for Afghan women, and robust independent broadcasting to counter violent extremist narratives.","Experts testified to the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee that ISIS‑K’s growth, persistent Taliban–Al Qaeda ties, and instability across South and Central Asia increase the risk of attacks beyond the region and underscore the need for sustained U.S. engagement across security, development and information channels.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

After Pahalgam attack, lawmakers press witnesses on Pakistan links to militant groups and need for calibrated U.S. pressure

Experts warn cuts to USAID, USIP and independent broadcasting would undercut counterterrorism efforts in Central and South Asia

Witnesses tell House panel ISIS‑K, Taliban links and regional instability heighten terror risk in South and Central Asia