WASHINGTON – United States likely to start blocked assistance to Pakistan,Sources have revealed.
The US is currently undergoing a review of its assistance to Pakistan whichis expected to be finalised soon, a top Trump administration official hastold lawmakers.
The relations between Pakistan and the US nosedived after US PresidentDonald Trump last year accused Islamabad of giving nothing to Washingtonbut “lies and deceit” and providing “safe haven” to terrorists.
With Islamabad playing a crucial role in peace talks with the Taliban,which may ultimately result in the withdrawal of the 14,000 US troops fromthe war-torn Afghanistan, the Trump administration seems to be reviewingits aid policy to Pakistan.
“We’re undergoing a review of our assistance in Pakistan that we hope willbe finalised soon. And we’ll then report to you in terms of what will begoing forward,” USAID Administrator Mark Green told members of HouseForeign Affairs Committee during a Congressional hearing on Thursday.
In September, the Trump administration cancelled USD 300 million inmilitary aid to Islamabad for not doing enough against terror groups likethe Haqqani Network and Taliban active on its soil.
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Trump also criticised Pakistan in a Twitter post back in November, sayingIslamabad was not doing enough to stop terrorism.
“As with all of our programmes, we have the programme metrics that we use.One thing we’re trying to do more of is to shift from outputs to outcomes.So, we have our roadmap with 17 objective metrics that help us measurecapacity and commitment in each country where we work or want to work, likePakistan,” Green said in response to another question on Pakistan.
“So more and more we’re trying to make sure that we’re able to make adifference on the outcome side, hasting the capacity of our host countrypartners to take on these challenges themselves, although in Pakistan isdaunting,” he said, responding to a question from Congressman Brad Sherman.
US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is spearheading efforts to strike a peace dealwith the Taliban with the help of Pakistan to end the 17-year Afghan war,America’s longest. “In spite of our aid to Pakistan, conditions in theSindh Province of South Pakistan continued to deteriorate in many areas.Schools and hospitals are getting worse in many areas as is wateravailability,” Sherman said.
