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Putting The Squeeze On Pakistan
December 13, 2011

Not Our Friends....really.

At long LAST!  Congress does something we can all be proud of.  No more hard-earned taxpayer money is being socked away in the pockets of Pakistani leaders working for both sides!  At least not now:

“A US Congressional panel has frozen $700m (£450m) in aid to Pakistan until it gives assurances it is tackling the spread of homemade bombs in the region.

The move – the second such freeze this year – reflects US frustration over what it sees as Islamabad’s reluctance to act against militant groups.

But it has has been criticized by senior Pakistani politicians.

The killing of Osama Bin Laden by US forces and ongoing US drone strikes in Pakistan have strained bilateral ties.

Washington is also known to be unhappy about what it sees as lackluster Pakistani efforts to counter the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network, which it believes operates out of Pakistan and fights US troops in Afghanistan.

Correspondents say that Pakistan is one of the largest recipients of American foreign aid and the cutback announced on Tuesday is only a small proportion of the billions of dollars it receives from Washington every year in civil and military assistance.

But the freeze in aid – part of a defense bill that is expected to be passed by Congress later this week – could presage even greater cuts, correspondents say.

US-Pakistan downturn

  • 30 Sept 2010: NATO helicopters kill two Pakistani soldiers, prompting nearly two-week border closure in protest
  • 22 April 2011: Supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan halted for three days in protest over drone attacks
  • 2 May: US announces Bin Laden’s death and says Pakistan not warned of raid
  • 2 June: Top US military chief Adm Mike Mullen admits “significant” cut in US troops in Pakistan
  • 10 July: US suspends $800m of military aid
  • 22 Sept: Outgoing US Adm Mullen accuses Pakistan of supporting Haqqani militant group in Afghanistan; denied by Pakistan
  • 26 Nov: NATO air strikes on checkpoints on the Afghan border kill 24 Pakistani troops”
       


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Filed under: Economy, Featured, Inside The KC, Politics by Sonja Eddings Brown, Dec 13, 2011

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