The United States is expected to release $337 million to Pakistan under the Coalition Support Fund in the next few days, a US official has said.
“The April-June 2014 reimbursement of $337 million of Coalition Support Fund assistance has been approved by the Secretary of Defence and we anticipate it being released by the end of the month,” a State Department spokesperson said on Friday.
Earlier this month, the Obama administration notified the US Congress about its intention to release the fund to Pakistan. The mandatory 15-day notice period expired this weekend.
Officials at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington clarified that the Coalition Support Fund was not military aid. “It’s the reimbursement of what Pakistan spends in combating terrorists along the Afghan border,” said one official. Diplomatic observers in Washington say that the ongoing military operation in FATA has helped increase US confidence in Pakistan’s plan for combating terrorists.
