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Congress freezes $700mn Pakistan aid
A US congressional panel has frozen $700 million worth of aid to Pakistan until Islamabad guarantees that it will fight the spread of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the country.
The US government wants "assurances that Pakistan is countering improvised explosive devices in their country that are targeting our coalition forces [in Afghanistan],” a House Republican lawmaker Howard McKeon was quoted by Reuters as saying on Tuesday.
The IEDs or homemade bombs are one of the most effective weapons employed by Taliban militants against US-led troops, Afghan police and officials as well as civilians in Afghanistan.
The assistance freeze, which was agreed as part of a defense bill expected to be approved this week, targets funds previously given to Pakistan to battle militants.
The United States has provided Pakistan with $20 billion in security and economic aid since 2001 to help its Asian ally with the so-called war on terrorism.
A senior Pakistani official warned that the move will further strain the bilateral relations, already at a record low.
"I don't think this is a wise move. It could hurt ties. There should instead be efforts to increase cooperation. I don't see any good coming out of this," said Salim Saifullah, chairman of Pakistan's Senate foreign relations committee.
The decision comes after the US was forced by Islamabad to vacate the Shamsi Airbase in the country's southwest following NATO airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and wounded dozens of others in Pakistan's northwestern region of Mohmand Agency on November 26.
The airbase was used to launch CIA drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal regions.
In response to the deadly attacks, Islamabad also blocked the route the military alliance used to transfer fuel and other supplies for US-led forces in Afghanistan and ordered a review of all arrangements with the US and NATO, including diplomatic, political, military and intelligence activities.
"I must say that the aerial attacks on our army border posts on November 26, 2011, constituted a huge setback to the prospects of much needed cooperation between all important stakeholders," Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani told a gathering of Pakistani envoys on Tuesday.
PressTV - Congress freezes $700mn Pakistan aid
A US congressional panel has frozen $700 million worth of aid to Pakistan until Islamabad guarantees that it will fight the spread of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the country.
The US government wants "assurances that Pakistan is countering improvised explosive devices in their country that are targeting our coalition forces [in Afghanistan],” a House Republican lawmaker Howard McKeon was quoted by Reuters as saying on Tuesday.
The IEDs or homemade bombs are one of the most effective weapons employed by Taliban militants against US-led troops, Afghan police and officials as well as civilians in Afghanistan.
The assistance freeze, which was agreed as part of a defense bill expected to be approved this week, targets funds previously given to Pakistan to battle militants.
The United States has provided Pakistan with $20 billion in security and economic aid since 2001 to help its Asian ally with the so-called war on terrorism.
A senior Pakistani official warned that the move will further strain the bilateral relations, already at a record low.
"I don't think this is a wise move. It could hurt ties. There should instead be efforts to increase cooperation. I don't see any good coming out of this," said Salim Saifullah, chairman of Pakistan's Senate foreign relations committee.
The decision comes after the US was forced by Islamabad to vacate the Shamsi Airbase in the country's southwest following NATO airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and wounded dozens of others in Pakistan's northwestern region of Mohmand Agency on November 26.
The airbase was used to launch CIA drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal regions.
In response to the deadly attacks, Islamabad also blocked the route the military alliance used to transfer fuel and other supplies for US-led forces in Afghanistan and ordered a review of all arrangements with the US and NATO, including diplomatic, political, military and intelligence activities.
"I must say that the aerial attacks on our army border posts on November 26, 2011, constituted a huge setback to the prospects of much needed cooperation between all important stakeholders," Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani told a gathering of Pakistani envoys on Tuesday.
PressTV - Congress freezes $700mn Pakistan aid
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