WASHINGTON: United States (US) President Donald Trump’s administration hasstarted to cut off military ties with Pakistan. However US officials fearthis act would push Pakistan further towards China and Russia militariesand US may lose a long time ally.
Pakistani military officials had already warned US regarding the action,Reuters has reported.
US is cutting scores of Pakistani officers from coveted training andeducational programmes that have been a hallmark of bilateral militaryrelations for more than a decade, according to a Reuters report.
The move, which has not been previously reported, is one of the first knownimpacts from Trump’s decision this year to suspend US security assistanceto Pakistan to compel it to crack down on militants.
The Pentagon and the Pakistani military did not comment directly on thedecision or the internal deliberations, but officials from both countriesprivately criticised the move.
US officials, speaking to *Reuters* on the condition of anonymity, saidthey were worried the decision could undermine a key trust-buildingmeasure. Pakistani officials warned it could push their military to furtherlook to China or Russia for leadership training.
The effective suspension of Pakistan from the US government’s InternationalMilitary Education and Training programme (IMET) will close off places thathad been set aside for 66 Pakistani officers this year, a State Departmentspokesperson told *Reuters.*
The places will either be unfilled or given to officers from othercountries.
Dan Feldman, a former US special representative for Afghanistan andPakistan, called the move “very short-sighted and myopic”.
“This will have lasting negative impacts limiting the bilateralrelationship well into the future,” Feldman told *Reuters*.
A State Department spokesperson, speaking on the condition of anonymity,said the IMET cancellations were valued at $2.41 million so far. At leasttwo other programmes have also been affected, the spokesperson said.
It is unclear precisely what level of military cooperation still continuesoutside the IMET programme, beyond the top level contacts between US andPakistani military leaders.
The US military has traditionally sought to shield such educationalprograms from political tensions, arguing that the ties built by bringingforeign military officers to the United States pay long-term dividends.
For example, the US Army’s War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, whichwould normally have two Pakistani military officers per year, boastsgraduates including Lieutenant General Naveed Mukhtar, the currentdirector-general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
The War College, the US Army’s premier school for foreign officers, says ithas hosted 37 participants from Pakistan over the past several decades. Itwill have no Pakistani students in the upcoming academic year, aspokeswoman said. – Agencies