Pakistan yesterday denounced Washington’s decision to suspend hundreds of millions of US dollars in security assistance as “counterproductive,” in a carefully worded response to the US’ public rebuke over militant safe havens.
The US has been threatening for months to cut aid to Islamabad over its failure to crack down on groups such as the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network, which it says operates from bases in Pakistan’s northwest.
The rhetoric has raised hackles in Islamabad and fears the row could undermine Pakistan’s support for US operations in Afghanistan.
Photo: AFP
The US Department of State on Thursday announced a dramatic freeze in deliveries of military equipment and security funding until Pakistan cracks down on the militants.
The announcement yesterday ignited some small protests in Pakistan, including in Chaman, one of the two main crossings on the border with Afghanistan, where several hundred people gathered to chant anti-US slogans, but the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a cautious statement in which it said it was “engaged” with US officials and awaiting further details.
Without referring to the decision directly, it warned that “arbitrary deadlines, unilateral pronouncements and shifting goalposts are counterproductive in addressing common threats.”
Emerging threats such as the growing presence of the Islamic State group in the region make cooperation more important than ever, it added.
Pakistan has fought fierce campaigns against homegrown militant groups, and says it has lost thousands of lives and spent billions of US dollars in its long war on extremism, but US officials accuse Islamabad of ignoring or even collaborating with groups that attack Afghanistan from safe havens along the nations’ border.
In September last year, Washington had already suspended US$255 million in funding to help Pakistan buy high-tech weaponry from US manufacturers.
Now, the US Department of Defense has been instructed to stop making payments from “coalition support funds” set aside to refund Pakistani spending on counterterrorist operations.
However, there would be exemptions and officials refused to put a figure on how much Pakistan would lose out on if it failed to cooperate.
The National Defense Authorization Act permits the US military to spend up to US$700 million this year.
US Department of State spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the security spending would be suspended until Pakistan takes “decisive action” against the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network.
Privately, US diplomats insist the relationship is not in crisis.
They say Pakistan is not refusing to fight the Haqqani network, but that the two capitals disagree about the facts on the ground.
Pakistan insists safe havens have been eradicated, but US intelligence says it is still seeing militants operating freely.
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