WASHINGTON – Pentagon on Monday dispelled the impression that the UnitedStates had cancelled its assistance to Pakistan.
Pentagon spokesperson Lt Col Koné Faulkner explained that the suspension ofsecurity assistance to Pakistan was announced in January 2018 and onSaturday the Pentagon asked Congress to ‘reprogramme’ a suspended amount ofabout $300 million that Pakistan was to receive from the Coalition SupportFund (CSF).
“CSF is included in the suspension and it remains in place. This is not anew decision or a new announcement, but acknowledgement of a July requestto reprogramme funds before they expire,” he said.
Ahead of the crucial visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo toIslamabad, the explanation sends a message to the new Pakistani governmentthat Washington wants to give Prime Minister Imran Khan and his team “somespace” to familiarise themselves with the issues they would be dealingwith.
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Any new decision affecting US-Pakistan relations will only be made afterWashington has had enough interaction with the Pakistani leadership tounderstand how it operates.
