WASHINGTON – The US State Department has sought $72 million in its 2021budgetary request from the Congress for resumption of Pakistan’sparticipation in a coveted US military training programme and otherinitiatives.
In January, President Donald Trump had authorised the resumption ofInternational Military Education and Training (IMET) for Pakistan. Thedecision to resume Islamabad’s participation in the IMET underscoreswarming relations that have followed meetings this year between PresidentTrump and Prime Minister Imran Khan.
According to the department’s request, the IMET, improves “defencecapabilities through professional military education and training,including technical courses and specialised instruction conducted at USmilitary schoolhouses or through mobile education and training teamsabroad”.
The department maintained that a total of $104.9 million was needed tostrengthen military alliances and international coalitions critical to theUS.
For South and Central Asia, the department has earmarked a total of $12.7million out of $104.9 million. Pakistan will receive $3.5 million for theresumption of the IMET facility if the request is authorised by Congress.
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India, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, also priority recipients of the fundsalongside Pakistan, are pegged to receive $1.5 million, $800,000 and $1.8million respectively.
“IMET programmes in South and Central Asia support the IndoPacific Strategyby focusing on professionalising the defence forces of regional partners,emphasising professional military education, respect for the rule of law,human rights, and civilian control of the military, including Englishlanguage training to improve the ability of partner services to work withthe United States,” reads the document. IMET is a small facet of USsecurity aid programmes for Pakistan worth some $2 billion that Trumpabruptly suspended in January 2018 to compel the nuclear-armed South Asiannation to crackdown on militants.
Other than the IMET, the US State Dept has also sought funds for Pakistanin the fields of economic development and anti-terrorism related.
