Pentagon has a message for PM Imran Khan government in Pakistan
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WASHINGTON - Pentagon on Monday dispelled the impression that the United States had cancelled its assistance to Pakistan.
Pentagon spokesperson Lt Col Koné Faulkner explained that the suspension of security assistance to Pakistan was announced in January 2018 and on Saturday the Pentagon asked Congress to ‘reprogramme’ a suspended amount of about $300 million that Pakistan was to receive from the Coalition Support Fund (CSF).
“CSF is included in the suspension and it remains in place. This is not a new decision or a new announcement, but acknowledgement of a July request to reprogramme funds before they expire,” he said.
Ahead of the crucial visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Islamabad, the explanation sends a message to the new Pakistani government that Washington wants to give Prime Minister Imran Khan and his team “some space” to familiarise themselves with the issues they would be dealing with.
Any new decision affecting US-Pakistan relations will only be made after Washington has had enough interaction with the Pakistani leadership to understand how it operates.
