US scraps $300 million in military aid to Pakistan

Agencies

September 3, 2018

Washington/New Delhi, Sept 3: In a blow to US-Pakistan relations, the US has said it had made a final decision to cancel $300 million in aid to Pakistan over Islamabad’s perceived failure to take decisive action against terrorists and militants. This is in addition to another $500 million in aid that was withdrawn earlier this year at the behest of the US Congress.

“Due to a lack of Pakistani decisive actions in support of the South Asia Strategy, the remaining $300 (million) was reprogrammed,” Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Kone Faulkner said. Faulkner said the Pentagon aimed to spend the $300 million on “other urgent priorities”, if approved by Congress. He said another $500 million in Pakistan aid was cut by the US Congress earlier this year.

There was no immediate reaction to the development from India, which accuses Pakistan of harbouring, training and infiltrating terrorists to foment terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country.

The withholding of the so-called Coalition Support Funds (CSF) is part of a broader suspension in aid to Pakistan announced by President Donald Trump in January, when he accused Pakistan of rewarding past assistance with “nothing but lies & deceit”. The Trump administration has been saying that Islamabad is granting safe haven to terrorists and insurgents waging a 17-year-old war in neighbouring Afghanistan, a charge Pakistan denies.

Though the funds have been withheld this year, Pakistan could again be eligible next year for CSF, with US officials saying that Islamabad could win back that support if it changed its behaviour.

Sunday’s move comes ahead of an expected visit by US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and the top US military officer, General Joseph Dunford, to Islamabad on 5 September. Combating militants is to be a “primary part of the discussions” in Pakistan, defence secretary James Mattis told reporters last week. Pakistan is also likely to approach the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout package soon.

Newly sworn in Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that bringing the country’s economy back on track will be a priority given its fast-depleting foreign exchange reserves.

An US official told Reuters that defence secretary Jim Mattis had an opportunity to authorize $300 million in CSF if he saw concrete Pakistani actions to go after insurgents but Mattis chose not to.

Pakistan is seen as supporting the Taliban to ensure an Islamabad-friendly government in Kabul in case of a conflict with India. The Pentagon’s decision showed that the US—which has sought to change Pakistan’s approach—is increasing pressure on Pakistan. It also underscores that Islamabad has yet to deliver the kind of change sought by Washington. Reuters reported in August that the Trump administration has quietly started cutting scores of Pakistani officers from coveted training and educational programmes that have been a hallmark of bilateral military relations for more than a decade.

A Pakistani official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said he was unaware of a formal notification of the US decision on assistance but said one was expected by the end of September.

Pakistan has received more than $33 billion in US assistance since 2002, including more than $14 billion in Coalition Support Funds. The CSF is a US defence department programme to reimburse allies that have incurred costs in supporting counter-insurgency operations.

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US braces for historic showdown: Harris vs. Trump in razor-tight presidential clash

News Network

November 5,2024

Washington: The race between Democratic leader Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump for the White House has been truly unprecedented as it saw drama, tragedy, political comebacks, fierce rhetoric and a historically razor-tight contest.

As the fight reaches its crescendo with the big election day just a few hours away, many political observers billed the unpredictable race for the 47th President of the US as the most consequential one in decades while appearing to project a grim picture for the country’s future under a Trump presidency.

In her final days of campaign, Vice President Harris focused on a message of hope, unity, optimism and women rights whereas Trump remained fiercely combative in targeting his Democratic rival and even suggested that he may not accept the election outcome in case of a defeat.

Overall, it has been a roller-coaster ride for both 60-year-old Harris and 78-year-old Trump.

Trump received his party’s nomination in March and formally at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in July — in a historic comeback after remaining in political wilderness for months following several court cases.

In effect, he became the first former president to get the nomination for the top office on the planet after being convicted of a felony.

“Trump has made one of the biggest political comebacks since Richard Nixon’s in terms of the political struggles that he has had in the last four years,” Communication Strategist Anang Mittal said.

Just days ahead of the RNC, Trump was shot at during a rally in Pennsylvania. He suffered an upper ear injury. Minutes later, a bleeding Trump raised his fist in defiance, images that drew a lot of emotional support from his die-hard supporters.

For Harris too, it has been a dramatic ride after Biden ended his re-election campaign in July, nearly weeks after he came under severe scrutiny following his incoherent performance at a televised debate with Trump.

While dropping out from the race, Biden, 81, endorsed Harris to succeed him as the Democratic candidate.

Finally in August, the Democratic National Convention formally nominated Harris as the party’s candidate for the presidential election.

The presidential election will be a chance to “move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past”, she said in a powerful speech at the Convention.

If Harris wins, she will become the first woman, first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to become the US President.

In the overall campaign, Harris has been projecting the election as the one to protect the country’s fundamental freedoms, safeguard constitutional values and ensure women’s rights.

On his part, Trump has maintained his signature aggressive rhetoric and promising to rebuild the economy and rid the US from illegal immigrants.

However, there has been strong criticism of the Republican leader’s roadmap to repair the economy.

"Donald Trump is offering a vision of crony rentier capitalism that has enticed many captains of industry and finance,” said Joseph E Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate economist, in a column in Project Syndicate.

"In catering to their wishes for more tax cuts and less regulation, he would make most Americans’ lives poorer, harder, and shorter,” he said.

With election day just a few hours away, there is no clarity on who has a better chance of winning the race.

"The elections are very close. They (the outcome) may change on the basis of a few thousands votes here or there. I think the big issue will be voter turnout tomorrow. That will determine the outcome in certain swing states,” said Executive Director of the US chapter of Observer Research Foundation Dhruva Jaishankar.

Kapil Sharma, a non-resident senior fellow at Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programmes, also echoed similar views.

“This election is probably one of the closest elections that I can remember. I have been working in Washington for over 30 years and I don’t recall an election being this tight,” he said.

More than 78 million Americans have already cast their votes as of Sunday, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab that tracks early and mail-in voting across the US.

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