WASHONGTON – Washington accuses Pakistan of supporting militant groupsincluding the Afghan Taliban.
It says the insurgents have safe havens in Pakistan´s border areas and itaims to use them as a regional bulwark in Afghanistan against arch-nemesisIndia.
Pakistan´s support for these groups must end, Washington says.
Islamabad has repeatedly denied the accusations, insisting it haseradicated safe havens and accusing the US of ignoring the thousands killedon Pakistani soil and the billions spent fighting extremists.
*What has the US done?*
On Saturday the Pentagon announced it was cutting $300 million in aid toIslamabad “due to a lack of Pakistani decisive actions in support of theSouth Asia Strategy”. The request was pending Congressional approval.
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Qureshi said the money was part of the Coalition Support Fund. The funding,worth $900 million, is set aside to refund Pakistani spending oncounter-terrorist operations and helps pay Pakistan for allowing US andother NATO supplies into Afghanistan.
In January Washington announced it was freezing payments from the fund aspart of a broader suspension of up to $2 billion in aid.
US officials have said that aid could be restored if Washington seesdecisive action from Pakistan. The $300 million cut and comments by aPentagon spokesman suggest Washington does not feel this has happened andis ratcheting up the pressure.
“It is not a new aid cut. It is a just an implementation of former aidsuppression,” analyst Huma Yusuf of the Wilson Center in Washington toldAFP. – APP/AFP
