US pauses military aid for Pakistan
The United States is to withhold some £500m in military assistance to Pakistan, as it “works through” strains in their relationship prompted by the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May.
White House Chief of Staff William Daley said that Pakistan has “taken some steps that have given us reason to pause on some of the aid”.
He said: “Obviously, there’s still lot of pain that the political system in Pakistan is feeling by virtue of the raid that we did to get Osama Bin Laden, something that the president felt strongly about and we have no regrets over.”
“Until we get through these difficulties, we will hold back some of the money that the American taxpayers have committed to give them,” he told ABC’s This Week programme.
The US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton warned in May the Pakistan must reign in militants and that anti-American “conspiracy theories” would not help the country.
She said there is no evidence of complicity in the Bin Laden raid at the highest level, but urged Pakistan’s President to work harder to fight militancy.
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Today, Mr Daley added: “The Pakistani relationship is difficult but it must be made to work over time. But until we get through these difficulties we will hold back some of the money that the American taxpayers have committed to give them.”
The suspension of funds follows moves from the US to reduce the number of its troops in Pakistan after an official request made by the Pakistani government.
The US has more than 200 troops in Pakistan helping to train the army. But the number of intelligence and special forces operatives in the country remains unknown.
Since the bin Laden operation, the US has kept up CIA drone strikes on militant targets in Pakistan’s north west. The raids are deeply unpopular and often draw criticism from Pakistani officials.