US official confirms withholding $225 million aid to Pakistan

By Web Desk
January 02, 2018

WASHINGTON: The United States did not plan to send an already-delayed $255 million in aid to Pakistan “at this time”, a US National Security Official said.

According to Reuters, a US National Security Council official on Monday said the White House did not plan to send an already-delayed $255 million in aid to Pakistan “at this time” and that “the administration continues to review Pakistan’s level of cooperation”.

US President Donald Trump administration had told Congress in August it was weighing whether to withhold $255 million in earmarked aid to Islamabad over its failure to crack down more effectively on terror groups.

In his first tweet of 2018, US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to cut off Pakistan’s aid over what he claimed its "lies and deceit" in offering "safe haven to terrorists."

Related Stories

“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!”, Trump had tweeted on Monday.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has summoned the US ambassador after Donald Trump threatened to cut aid to Islamabad over its "lies" about militancy.

The Foreign Office summoned US Ambassador David Hale to convey Pakistan’s strong rejection of President Trump's accusations.

Foreign Minister Asif dismissed Trump’s comments as a political stunt born out of frustration over U.S. failures in Afghanistan, where Afghan Taliban militants have been gaining territory and carrying out major attacks.

“He has tweeted against us and Iran for his domestic consumption,” Asif told Geo TV on Monday.

“He is again and again displacing his frustrations on Pakistan over failures in Afghanistan as they are trapped in dead-end street in Afghanistan.”

Asif added that Pakistan did not need U.S. aid. (Web Desk/AFP/Reuters)

Advertisement