The US military has declared it is canceling $300 million in aid to Pakistan over what it calls Islamabad’s failure to take decisive measures against militant forces, marking a further deterioration in ties.
“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 Saturday, according to Reuters.
The suspension was part of a broader cut in the so-called Coalition Support Funds announced by US President Donald Trump early this year, when he accused Islamabad of rewarding past American aid with “nothing but lies & deceit.”
According to Faulkner, the US Defense Department aimed to spend the $300 million on “other urgent priorities” if approved by Congress. He further noted that another $500 million in CSF was stripped by Congress from Pakistan earlier this year, to bring the total withheld to $800 million.
US officials, however, have held out the possibility that Pakistan could win back that support if it changed its behavior.