USD 1.66 bn security aid to Pakistan suspended: Pentagon

WASHINGTON: The United States has suspended USD 1.66 billion in security assistance to Pakistan, following President Donald Trump’s directive in this regard early this year, the Pentagon has said. “USD 1.66 billion of security assistance to Pakistan is suspended,” Col Rob Manning, spokesman of the Department of Defense told reporters in an email response to questions on Tuesday.
No further breakdown of the suspended security assistance to Pakistan was provided. According to David Sedney, who served as Deputy Assistant Secretary Defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia during the previous Obama administration, the blocking of military assistance to Pakistan, which began in January of this year is a strong signal of American frustration.
“But, so far Pakistan has taken no serious steps to address the core US concern – that Pakistan tolerates and often encourages groups which use violence against Pakistan’s neighbors,” Sedney told PTI. “Pakistan’s leaders have promised cooperation, but beyond words, serious cooperation has not happened, therefore President Trump is frustrated and so are most Americans,” he said in response to a question.
“This frustration does not ignore the suffering that Pakistani people have undergone. It just asks Pakistan to recognise that it should act to help stop the suffering of others,” said the Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank. Previously, Sedney was at the Department of State and the National Security Council, as well as Acting President of American University of Afghanistan.
He was a part of the Pentagon when Osama bin Laden was killed in a daring raid by US commandoes in Abbottabad. Over the last few days Trump has said that people in Pakistan knew about the presence of bin Laden. While Pakistan has suffered terribly from terrorism by Islamic extremists, Islamabad has also enabled extremists groups that attack its neighbours, he observed. (PTI)