ISLAMABAD – The Pentagon’s decision of cancelling Pakistan CoalitionSupport Fund showed that the United States, which has sought to changePakistani behavior, is still increasing pressure on Pakistan’s securityapparatus.

It also underscored that Islamabad has yet to deliver the kind of changesought by Washington.

“It is a calibrated, incremental ratcheting up of pressure on Pakistan,”said Sameer Lalwani, co-director of the South Asia program at the StimsonCenter think tank in Washington.

Reuters reported in August that the Trump administration has quietlystarted cutting scores of Pakistani officers from coveted training andeducational programs that have been a hallmark of bilateral militaryrelations for more than a decade.

The Pentagon made similar determinations on CSF in the past but this year’smove could get more attention from Islamabad, and its new prime minister,Imran Khan, at a time when its economy is struggling.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have plummeted over the past year andit will soon decide on whether to seek a bailout from the InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF) or friendly nations such as China.

“They are squeezing them when they know that they’re vulnerable and it isprobably a signal about what to expect should Pakistan come to the IMF fora loan,” Lalwani said. The United States has the largest share of votes atthe IMF.