The United States Congress has cut the security-oriented financial aid to Pakistan by approving a $716.3-billion Defence Authorisation Bill.
According to reports, the move comes after the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2019, removes certain conditions – like action against Haqqani Network or the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) — as was the case in the past few years for disbursement of US aid to Pakistan.
The Senate passed the conference report on NDAA-19 by 87 to 10 votes on August 2.
According to recent NDAA, the security aid to Pakistan has been slashed to $150 million—having once begun from almost $750 million per year to $1 billion.
“The legislation reduces the total amount of funds provided for reimbursement to Pakistan to $150 million. This is a significant reduction from the $700 million that was authorised through Coalition Support Fund (CSF) last year,” Anish Goel, who was part of Barack Obama’s White House National Security Council, reportedly said.
“The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!,” Tweeted US President Donald Trump.
