US to defer over one-third of annual military aid to Pakistan: Report

Washington, July 10(ANI): The Obama administration is suspending and, in some cases, cancelling hundreds of millions of dollars of aid to Pakistan's military over the expulsion of US military trainers from the country and to press its army to fight terrorists more effectively.

Altogether, about 800 million dollars in military aid and equipment- or over one-third of the over 2-billion-dollar annual US security assistance to Pakistan- could be affected, The New York Times quoted three senior US officials, as saying.

This aid includes about 300 million dollars to reimburse Pakistan for some of the costs of deploying more than 100,000 soldiers along the Afghan border to combat terrorism, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars in training assistance and military hardware, according to half a dozen Congressional, Pentagon and other administration officials speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Some of the curtailed aid includes equipment such as radios, night-vision goggles and helicopter spare parts, which cannot be set up, certified or used for training because Pakistan has denied visas to the American personnel needed to operate the equipment, two senior Pentagon officials said.

And some is assistance like the reimbursements for troop costs, which is being reviewed in light of questions about Pakistan's commitment to carry out counterterrorism operations, the report said.

Many of the recent aid curtailments are clearly intended to force the Pakistani military to make a difficult choice between backing the country that finances much of its operations and equipment, or continuing to provide secret support for the Taliban and other militants fighting American soldiers in Afghanistan, the report added.

American officials say they would probably resume equipment deliveries and aid if relations improve and Pakistan pursues terrorists more aggressively, adding that the cutoffs do not affect any immediate deliveries of military sales to Pakistan, like F-16 fighter jets or nonmilitary aid.

The decision to hold back much of the American military aid has not been made public by the Pakistani military or the civilian government, but it is well known at the top levels of the military, and a senior Pakistani official described it as an effort by the Americans to gain "leverage."

Maleeha Lodhi, who served twice as Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States, said the the Pentagon action was short-sighted, and was likely to produce greater distance between the two countries.

Brigadier Javed Hussain, a retired Special Forces officer within the Pakistan Army, said that the hold on US assistance would be viewed as "an unfriendly act and total disregard of the sacrifices made by the army." (ANI)