WASHINGTON – The US House of Representatives joined the Senate on Tuesdayin seeking to end US economic aid to Pakistan while the Trumpadministration has already suspended military aid, according to Pakistan’sDawn news report.
A bill introduced in the House said that non-defence aid to Pakistan shouldalso end and the money set aside for this purpose should be invested ininfrastructure projects in the United States.
The US officials say they are seeking the ban because Pakistan “providesmilitary aid and intelligence” to terrorists, a charge Islamabad stronglydenies. Pakistani officials say that the US administration is blamingPakistan for its failure to eliminate insurgency in Afghanistan.
The legislation, introduced by Congressmen Mark Sanford from South Carolinaand Thomas Massie from Kentucky, seeks to prohibit the US State Departmentand the US Agency for International Development (USAID) from sendingAmerican taxpayer money to Pakistan.
Instead, these funds will be redirected to the Highway Trust Fund, theaccount that pays for road infrastructure in the US.
This common-sense bill puts US first by reallocating tax dollars to roadsand bridges at home instead of funnelling money overseas, CongressmanMassie said.
“When the American people support other nations, our generosity shouldn’tbe used to reward terrorists with US taxpayer dollars,” Congressman Sanfordadded.
“Couple this with the fact that the Highway Trust Fund will be $111 billionshort by 2026, and it simply makes financial sense to repurpose these fundsfor our infrastructure,” he said.
The move to stop US economic assistance to Pakistan initiated in the Senatewhere Senator Rand Paul introduced a companion legislation early last month.
The current debate in Congress on the rationale for continuing USassistance to Pakistan followed a new year day tweet from President Trump,who accused the country of receiving more than $33 billion in 15 years butgiving “nothing but lies and deceit” in return.
Four days after the tweet, he suspended US security aid to Pakistan, hopingthat it would force Islamabad to support his strategy for defeating theTaliban.