Washington: In another major blow to Islamabad, a bill seeking to end all economic aid to Pakistan was moved by the United States on Tuesday. The development comes a month after the Trump administration suspended it’s $255-billion military aid to the country.
Unhappy with Pakistan’s approach to terrorists on home soil, the US House of Representatives joined the Senate on Tuesday to end the US economic aid, reported Pakistan’s national daily Dawn.
“The legislation, introduced by Congressmen Mark Sanford from South Carolina and Thomas Massie from Kentucky, seeks to prohibit the US State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) from sending American taxpayer money to Pakistan,” said the report.
“When the American people support other nations, our generosity shouldn’t be used to reward terrorists with US taxpayer dollars,” Congressman Sanford said. The money set aside for the purpose should be invested in infrastructure projects in the US, he added.
Armed with proofs, India has repeatedly pointed at Pakistan’s trangressions and how it creates instability in the region by providing military aid and intelligence to terrorists.
Meanwhile, a top Trump administration official once asked Pakistan to expel terrorists, especially the Taliban leaders, operating from terror safe havens within its soil.
“We’ve had a number of discussions with our Pakistani partners on expectations for change and expelling terrorists from areas in which they’ve been allowed to operate,” Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a Congressional hearing on Afghanistan on Tuesday.
“They (Pakistan) understand what we expect…Our suspension of security assistance continues until we see more evidence that they are in fact taking action,” Sullivan said.
He said the US has been in discussions with Pakistan but there has been not a “sufficient amount of action” from it against terrorists.
Bureau Report
Leave a Reply