Coalition Support Fund from US: Pakistan government takes important decision
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ISLAMABAD - On the issue of the Coalition Support Fund from US:, Pakistan government takes important decision.
Pakistan will not seek Coalition Support Fund from the United States despite Islamabad’s claim that this money is only reimbursement, officials said on Friday.
Senior officials at the foreign ministry told The Nation that Islamabad was in contact with Washington but never spoke about the CSF recently.
“We have clearly told them it’s up to them to decide. The fact is we have spent this money for them and these are only reimbursements. They don’t want to pay us, we will not insist but we don’t appreciate it anyway,” said one official.
Another official said that improvement of trust level with the US was more important for Pakistan rather than money. “The trust level is the key issue. We want to improve that. We have conveyed to them that we want trade not aid. The CSF of course is not aid,” he clarified.
Earlier, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Alice Wells said the US budget for the upcoming financial year does not include any security assistance for Pakistan’s military but only civilian assistance programming.
The statement released by House Foreign Affairs Committee said the budget request for India will be increased and those for Afghanistan and Pakistan will be “rationalized.”
