WASHINGTON: The United States is transferring $1.5 billion meant forAfghanistan and Pakistan to a fund to build the Mexican border wall, saysacting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan.
The funds have been reprogrammed despite an increase in attacks insideAfghanistan and a complaint by the US chief negotiator that peace talkswith the Taliban are not moving at a sufficient pace.
“We reprogrammed $1.5 billion towards the construction of more than 120miles of border barrier without impacting readiness,” Mr Shanahan said in astatement released late Friday.
Read Top Stories
More than $600 million of these funds come from an Afghan security forcesaccount while an unspecified amount was taken from the funds previouslymeant for Pakistan.
