Pakistan on Monday said it did not need US aid to fight al Qaeda and the Taliban and it would continue with military operations in the Tribal Areas on its own, while Washington said it had not stopped civilian aid to the country as it urged Islamabad to step up the anti-terror fight.
Military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said, “The cut in US military aid will not affect Pakistan’s ability to combat the terrorists and militant groups.” He said the US had not yet officially informed Pakistan about the reasons that led to withholding $800m aid.
Announcing the move on Sunday, the US said Pakistan was an important ally but that there were “difficulties” to overcome in their relationship. White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley told ABC television that Pakistan had “taken some steps that have given us reason to pause on some of the aid”. Some lawmakers in the US Congress are questioning the justification of more than $2 billion in military aid being given to Islamabad each year in the aftermath of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s death in Abbottabad on May 2 in a US special forces’ operation.
According to BBC, Pakistan has since expelled more than 100 US military trainers and has threatened to shut down a CIA base. The top US military officer Admiral Mike Mullen also suggested last week that the Pakistani government had “sanctioned” the killing in May of a Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad. Talking to Pakistan Today, Gen Abbas said, “The US decision will have no significant effect on Pakistan’s counter-terrorism efforts. “The Pakistan Army will continue its operations in the tribal areas as it was doing in the past.”
He said two major military operations were currently underway in Mohmand and Kurram agencies and they were being run without any external help and support. He said al Qaeda and other militant groups operating on Pakistani soil were not only a threat to the country but to others as well. To a question, he said Pakistan did not have the details of Washington’s decision yet and he could not say what sections of the aid were being withheld. However, he recalled that army chief General Ashfaq Kayani had already asked for diversion of military assistance towards the civilian side, where he believed it was required more.
MORE STEPS NEEDED
Meanwhile, the US administration defended its decision to suspend $800 million of military aid to Pakistan, saying its uneasy ally needed to make a greater effort in the fight against Taliban, AFP reported.
“When it comes to our military assistance, we’re not prepared to continue providing that at the pace that we were providing it unless and until we see certain steps taken,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
The US was particularly “looking to improve our cooperation in counterterrorism, in counterinsurgency”, she told journalists. Nuland recalled that on May 25, Islamabad demanded that about 100 US advisers leave Pakistani soil, effectively halting military training, adding “we obviously can’t do that in an environment where Pakistan has asked our trainers to go”.
Nuland stressed that “the US continues to seek a constructive, collaborative, mutually beneficial relationship with Pakistan”.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also said that Pakistan’s civil aid had not been cut. “Our relationship with Pakistan has always been complicated,” she said, but added that ties with Islamabad were important for US’ security interests.
CIVIL AID: In a related development, Pakistan’s envoy to the US Hussain Haqqani told a press conference that Washington had only stopped some military aid to the country and there were no restrictions on civil aid.
He said that efforts were being made to bridge the divide between the two countries, hoping that the strategic dialogue between the two frontline states against terrorism would also resume soon.