ISLAMABAD: The United States has conveyed to Pakistan that the militarytraining component of the aid would continue despite suspension of thesecurity assistance package.
Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua informed the Senate’s foreign affairscommittee on Wednesday that the US would continue funding the aidcomponents that support their national interest, including theInternational Military Education and Training (IMET) part.
The IMET programme, which focuses on military education, is meant toestablish a rapport between the US military and the recipient country’smilitary for building alliances for the future. Under this programme,Pakistan Army officers have been trained in the US at a cost of $52 millionover the past 15 years and an allocation of another $4m has been made forthe current year.
The IMET programme exemption is meant to continue contacts with futuremilitary leaders. One of the main lessons learnt by the US from the periodwhen nuclear proliferation-related sanctions under the Pressler Amendmentwent into force in 1990 and, among others, training programmes were ended,was that such actions, besides depriving Pakistan of wanted militaryequipment, reduced the US interaction with Pakistani military officers inthe 1990s. That break impeded their efforts for rebuilding rapport after9/11.
Farhatullah Babar wants to know if antiterrorism fatwa covered jihad acrossnational boundaries
While the IMET would continue, the US has frozen the aid provided under theprogrammes that are more important to Pakistan, particularly the ForeignMilitary Financing (FMF). The recipients of FMF can use the funds underthis programme for procurement of defence hardware produced by the US.
Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, while briefing the lawmakers on the currentstate of Pak-US relations, said the relationship was not going “verysmooth” and problems were persisting.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells concluded on Tuesday hertwo-day trip to Pakistan renewing the demand for clearing Pakistaniterritory of alleged terror sanctuaries. Earlier, US Centcom chief GenJoseph Votel had reached out to Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa for calming thefrayed nerves at the General Headquarters.
The foreign minister said the situation remained the same and there was noreal shift in the US position so far.
He said Pakistan was trying to maintain a balance in its relationship withthe US and had made it clear that it could live without aid but would notcompromise on national integrity.
Mr Asif said the US was trying to shift the blame to Pakistan for itsfailures in Afghanistan. “We have to stand up to those who accuse us ofharbouring terrorists,” he remarked.
The accusations, he maintained, became meaningless without facilitating therepatriation of Afghan refugees and helping with fencing for checkingunauthorised border crossings. Without doing these two things, he warned,the security situation would not improve much.
Senator Farhatullah Babar asked if the antiterrorism fatwa declaringprivate jihad as well as suicide bombings un-Islamic also covered theso-called jihad across the national boundaries.
The absence of the words “across the national borders” in the fatwaunequivocally rejecting private jihad created space for some jihadists, hemaintained, and asked the minister whether the Foreign Office was on boardin the exercise leading to the formulation of fatwa.
Responding to Mr Babar, the foreign minister said that it was a matter ofinterpretation.
Senator Babar then said that some undeclared moves seemed afoot tomainstream militant organisations without taking parliament on board andasked whether the FO was aware of any such move. He said that the softtreatment meted out to former Taliban spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan, bailof Maulana Soofi Mohammad, shielding Maulana Masood Azhar from UN sanctionsand lately the militant organisations entering into electoral politicspointed towards these undeclared moves.