Washington: The US is keeping “all options” on the table apart from suspending about USD 2 billion in security aid to Pakistan to put pressure on it to take decisive action against the Taliban and the Haqqani network and eliminate their safe havens, the White House warned Saturday.
The US Friday suspended about USD 2 billion in security aid to Pakistan over its failure to crack down on militants. The freezing of all security assistance to Pakistan comes after President Donald Trump in a New Year’s Day tweet accused the country of giving nothing to the US but “lies and deceit” and providing “safe haven” to terrorists in return for USD 33 billion aid over the last 15 years.
“The US does have a range of tools that we’re looking at beyond just the security assistance issue to deal with Pakistan and to try to convince it to crack down on the Taliban and Haqqani network,” a senior Trump administration official told reporters. “Certainly no one should doubt the US resolve to address this threat and all options I would say will be on the table,” said the official on condition of anonymity.
The suspended amount includes USD 255 million in the Foreign Military Funding (FMF) for the fiscal year 2016 as mandated by Congress. It also includes USD 900 million in the Coalition Support Funds money to Pakistan for the fiscal year 2017. In addition, the Department of Defence has suspended other unspent money from previous fiscal years. While some policy makers have been asking the White House to revoke the non-NATO ally status of Pakistan and put pressure on the country through multilateral institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations, Pentagon generals have indicated unilateral actions.
However, the official refrained from divulging any of the options that the administration is considering against Pakistan. “I’m not able to comment on specific steps at this time. But nobody should doubt our resolve in trying to address these threats. We’re looking at all options. We hope that we can cooperate with Pakistan. But we do have options that we’re considering,” the official said.
Pak blacklists JuD, several others
New Delhi: Amid growing pressure from Trump administration to crack down on terror outfits, Pakistan interior ministry Saturday blacklisted 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s organization Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and several other terror organizations, reported Express News. The move comes a day after the US suspended about $2 billion in security aid to Pakistan for failing to clamp down on Taliban and the Haqqani Network and dismantle their safe havens. US President Donald Trump had January 1 accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the US but “lies and deceit” and providing “safe haven” to terrorists in return for $33 billion aid over the last 15 years. Rattled by US threat and under pressure to win back its trust, Pakistan interior ministry in a press release made public as many as 72 groups banned by it.
Agencies