US reluctant to restore Kerry-Lugar Bill, CSF aid for Pakistan

The country’s top economic team has failed to persuade the US to restore the aid under the Kerry-Lugar Bill and Coalition Support Fund (CSF) for Pakistan, an official said.
“The US has linked the restoration of Kerry-Lugar Bill and Coalition Support Fund with the resumption of supply line for NATO troops in Afghanistan,” the official in the Finance Ministry said, adding that in the recent Pak-US officials’ meeting held at Washington, the US officials response was not positive when Pakistani authorities raised the issue of aid restoration for Pakistan.
Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in his recent meetings with the US official reiterated the demand for payment of US grant under the Coalition Support Fund to Pakistan and informed them that Pakistan had placed the CSF in the budget, and if it did not receive the amount during the rest of the current financial year, the economic troubles of the country would increase as Pakistan had projected $800 million in receipts. In an attempt to restore the aid of Kerry-Lugar Bill and Coalition Support Fund for Pakistan, the country’s top economic team had reached Washington on April 17 and is scheduled to return today (Thursday).