In a new blow to Pakistan over its failure to go all-out against terrorist groups operating from its soil, the United States has withheld $300 million in military reimbursement funding.
The latest move follows a decision by US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter in the wake of the continuing operations by Pakistan-based Haqqani network and Afghan Taliban groups, targeting US and allied personnel in Afghanistan.
The Washington Post, which first reported the decision, quoted Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump as saying that Secretary Carter has decided against making the requisite certification to Congress that Pakistan is taking sufficient action against the Haqqani network.
Carter’s action comes against the backdrop of deteriorating security in Afghanistan amid a resurgence of Taliban activity. It is reckoned to be the first time that the Obama administration has blocked military aid on account of the spike in the militant activities of the Haqqani network.
Pakistan had been authorised $900 million for fiscal 2016 under the US’s Coalition Support Funds (CSF) programme. Of that, assistance worth $ 350 million was subject to Secretary Carter’s certification that Pakistan has taken sufficient action against the Haqqani network.
Since 2002, Pakistan has received a whopping $14 billion under CSF in return for its support to the US and allied operations in Afghanistan.
The decision to withhold $350 million also coincides with the mounting criticism in US Congress over the safe haven that Pakistan continues to provide to terror groups targeting their activities against both Afghanistan and India.
At a Congressional hearing last month, Representative Ted Poe drew attention to the fact that despite the tell-tale evidence of its collusion with global terrorism, Pakistan was among the leading recipients of US foreign assistance.
The hearing was titled “Pakistan: Friend or Foe in the Fight Against TerrorismIJ” and it saw witnesses recount Islamabad’s continuing harbouring of terror outfits. Former US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad commented that Pakistan was in effect playing the role of “a significant contributor to the global menace of Islamic terrorism”.
The sharp opposition on Capitol Hill had earlier this year resulted in a setback to Pakistan’s push to acquire eight F-16 fighter jets. Although Congress gave its approval, it inserted a condition that Islamabad will have to finance the $699 million deal on its own, without expecting any support from Washington through its FMF (Foreign Military Financing) mechanism.