Pakistan Today

US Senators seek to disburse $1.1B

US Senators Carl Levin and Lindsey Graham are in favour of disbursing over $1.1 billion, which was held hostage due to the stale relationship between Pakistan and the United States over the past seven months. The US Senate had withheld the money as Pakistan had closed NATO supply lines due to the Salala incident last November.

With the recent apology offered by Secretary Clinton to Pakistan over the unfortunate loss of Pakistani soldiers, Pakistan has reopened NATO supply routes.

Armed Services Committee Chairman, Senator Carl Levin and senior ranking member, Lindsey Graham told the media on Tuesday that the funds Congress has appropriated should be released.

Expressing his hesitancy, Senator Levin stated, “they [Pakistan] don’t deserve it. What they’ve done is presumably earned it by the amount of money they’ve laid out in terms of their anti-terrorist activity and protecting our lines”. However, Levin said he would vote on the Senate floor to disburse the funds to Pakistan.

Senator Graham also commented on the relationship between Pakistan and the United States. “Pakistan on a good day is very hard. It is an unreliable ally. You can’t trust them, you can’t abandon them. The biggest beneficiary is the men and women fighting the war. And I want Pakistan to be stable and if the money helps them become more stable, good.”

Relations between Pakistan and United States have been difficult over the past year, which spiralled after the death of Bin Laden in May 2011 at Abbottabad.

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