WASHINGTON: The United States has told Pakistan what it must do if it wantsWashington to resume paying out hundreds of millions of dollars in securityaid, the Pentagon said Monday.
“Our expectations are straightforward,” Pentagon spokesman Colonel RobManning told reporters.
“Taliban and Haqqani leadership and attack planners should no longer beable to find safe haven or conduct operations from Pakistani soil.”
Last week, President Donald Trump froze payments worth $900 million fromthe “coalition support fund” for Pakistan, saying Islamabad is not doingenough to target Afghan Taliban and Haqqani group bases.
The coalition funding is set aside to refund Pakistani spending oncounter-terrorist operations.
Also in question is almost $1 billion of US military equipment that hasallowed Pakistan access to advanced military technology.
“The United States has conveyed to Pakistan specific and concrete stepsthat it could take,” Manning said.
“We stand ready to work with Pakistan to combat terrorist groups withoutdistinction. We will continue these conversations with the Pakistanigovernment in private.”
Pentagon officials are watching to see if Pakistan is going to retaliateagainst the US by cutting supply lines to US troops from its port atKarachi into Afghanistan.
So far, Manning said, there was no sign Islamabad was preparing to takethat course of action. He stressed that the suspension of funding was notpermanent “at this time” and that the money was not being divertedelsewhere.
US officials allege that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)agency and other military bodies have long helped fund and arm the Talibanfor ideological reasons, but also to counter rising Indian influence inAfghanistan, whose government is backed by the US.
Islamabad denies those allegations and has called Trump’s decision tothreaten funding “counterproductive”.