Posted on 09/02/2018 4:03:26 PM PDT by BenLurkin
In the latest blow to already fragile ties between the United States and Pakistan, the Defense Department said on Saturday it has suspended $300 million in funding to Islamabad over what it calls the government's failure to take action against terrorists.
The suspension is part of a broader pullback in military aid for Pakistan announced by the Trump administration in January. The administration says Pakistan is not taking strong enough steps to combat the Taliban and other groups. Pakistan, which serves as a key route for transporting supplies to U.S. forces in Afghanistan, has repeatedly denied harboring terrorists.
The aid that's being suspended comes from the Coalition Support Fund (CSF), which is used to reimburse U.S. partners for logistical and military support to U.S. military operations in the region.
"Due to a lack of Pakistani decisive actions in support of the South Asia Strategy," the $300 million was redirected to "other urgent priorities" before those funds were set to expire on September 30, U.S. Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Koné Faulkner told NPR.
The South Asia Strategy, announced by President Trump last August, encompasses Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and the Central Asian nations and aims in part to "stop the resurgence of safe havens that enable terrorists to threaten America," according to a press release from the Department of Defense. Extremists often use Pakistan to take refuge from American military action in Afghanistan.
"Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with [this effort] in Afghanistan," the president said during a speech last August. "It has much to lose by continuing to harbor criminals and terrorists."
Under the Department of Defense's Appropriations Act of 2018, signed by the president in March, Pakistan would not be refunded for any defense operations unless the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State certified that it is "cooperating with the United States in 12 counterterrorism efforts."
The announcement over aid comes as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford are preparing to meet this week with Pakistan's newly elected prime minister, Imran Khan. From there, Pompeo and Dunford will travel to India, Pakistan's main rival, for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Khan inherited a struggling economy, and is expected to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout worth upwards of $12 billion, according to the New York Times.
Last month, Pompeo warned that the IMF bailout shouldn't be used to pay off debts owed to China. Earlier this year, the U.S. accused Pakistan of sponsoring extremist groups, including the Taliban, and requested the country be placed on a global terror "gray list" that would make it more difficult to obtain international loans. Pakistan was able to avoid landing on the list.
On Sunday, Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, said he hopes Pompeo's visit "will be done in an amicable matter, strengthening the ties," reported local press.
"We continue to press Pakistan to indiscriminately target all terrorist groups, including the Haqqani Network and LET in the region," Lt. Col. Faulkner said, referring to the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba. "DoD is awaiting congressional determination on whether this reprogramming request will be approved or denied."
The Defense Department will receive that congressional response before September 30, when the funds expire.
MW
I can barely stand it anymore...
“:^)
/s
The ISI started the Taliban.
They were never on our side.
Pakistan needs us more...much more...than we “need” Pakistan.
Come to think of it...do we need Pakistan at all?
“failure to take action against terrorists.”
“continuing to harbor criminals and terrorists.”
—Not quite the same thing.
the problem with Pakistan harboring, aiding, abetting Muslim terrorists has been around for several years (think especially Obama regime years...and recalling that Obama went to Pakistan and a known terrorist...and Obama’s funding helping aiding abetting arming and protecting other Muslim terrorist groups from Libya to Somalia to Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood to the PLO/PA to Hezballah, etc)
Pakistan needs to clean up its act!
I would cut aid to a lot of places if I were Trump. You’re on your own third world...bye bye!
it a start do they still have the doctor in prison who led us to OBL
That’s a start. How many more billions are we wasting on them?
Pakis need to go to the U.K.
That’s where they belong and be happy.
Why is there any “foreign aid?”
Really, the allowance should be performance based.
Winning!
This is the fence Pakistan is building on the Hindu kush peaks to cut itself off from the instability, terrorism, narcotics, arms and human smuggling from they say is coming from Afghanistan. It is 2800km long and is about to complete next year.
The grey sheet is to hide troops/workers from sniper fire from Afghan side.
Why were we ever giving them 300 million to begin with!!
Pakistan is a terrorist country.
They are selling the small arms we give them to the highest bidder, too.
Pakistan is close to 97% Muslim.
The last thing Pakistan should be doing is curtailing Muslims like the Taliban from practicing the fundamentals of the religion the way Allah wants and following the examples of Muhammad.
WE should have been wise to this years ago and not got our hopes up they would become heretical Muslims and useful idiots for us Kafirs.
It seems Pres, Trump is getting wise to this Islamic deception, where us Kafirs pay to hasten our demise. -Tom
Pakistan was created at the behest of Churchill and FDR. Churchill had approached Nehru, leader of the free India movement, and asked for a base to keep an eye on the USSR if India was granted freedom from the Brits. India said no way...after 200 years of Brits on Indian soil...it was fine for them to leave. That’s when the US and Britain started funding the Muslim league and the idea of Pakistan got started.
I wouldn’t doubt it that the founding of this beknighted godforsaken sh*thole of a place involved Communists, Muslims, and back room deals. (not to mention FDR! LOL!) Thanks for the info.
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